Recovery - A Monster Musume Fanfiction
by demonblade3
Summary: So, the Monster Program was a hit in Japan. The result? Its gone global. Our story is about one man's struggle with past loss, acceptance, and healing. This is his Recovery.
1. Chapter 1: The Hellhound

**A/N: What is good everybody, and welcome to this fanfic based off Monster Musume. I'm just going to be make a few things clear before we proceed, just so later people don't lose their shit.**

 **1\. This is going to include monsters from the Monster Girl Encyclopedia, by Kenkou Cross. I'm borrowing heavily from most of those designs and aspects of their characters, but also tweaking a few things here and there for my liking.**

 **2\. Yes, this is a harem story, as are most on here. Kind of what you're paying for at this point.**

 **3\. This is mostly an original story contained in the Monster Musume universe, but I will have various links and ties to the main canon series. You'll see as time goes in this story.**

 **4\. Lemons will be abundant as this goes on. I will let you know when this occurs, so your heart doesn't explode when some X-rated shit goes down.**

 **5\. I do not own any of the canon characters or ideas that exist. I do however own all my original characters that appear. All rights go to the respective owners. I'm not one of them, sadly.**

 **Now that we got that shit out of the way. Let's get this show on the road.**

 **Hit the lights.**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

 **Chapter 1. The Hellhound**

It was a phenomenon.

The Monster Girl craze has gone global.

Three years ago, a bill was passed from the Japanese government to allow liminals and humans to coexist in order to achieve a deeper understanding. Even the creators of the Inter-species Exchange Program didn't think it would be as well-received as it was. Nearly every nation has now requested to adopt the programs into their respective countries. The demand was so high now that entire branches needed to be created dedicated to those countries to share the collective load.

One of the most popular markets for the program at this moment is unsurprisingly, America. The branch headquarters there is now one of the biggest in the world. Americans, even with all their faults and prejudices, really took to the program almost immediately. The positive feedback from the extra-species who lived there has created a massive demand for American hosts, as well as more exotic Monsters to become available to house and adopt.

It was common now to see man and monster hand in hand on the streets, with whole complexes dedicated to inter-species living. People's moods seemed to be happy, and peace seemed to have calmed world affairs and politics down to some extent. Even the current US President and some other world leaders are now hosts to extra-species. Things seemed to be looking up for the world, and for the people living in it.

It seemed that it was finally Nathaniel Walker's time to finally get into the program.

Nathaniel Or "Nathan", the nickname he preferred to go by was a young, college student with a full time job. Nathan was just starting his early 20's, and his life as well. He was a tall man, with a slim but muscular frame. His hair was dark brown, and was in the undercut style. He liked to slick his hair back to prevent his bangs from getting in his way. He had blue-gray eyes, and a small scar on his lip from a birth defect. His beard game was weak, the mustache never really deciding if it wanted to come in or not. Our man was a mellow, go with the flow guy. He was patient, but could get frustrated really easily. Nathan had anger issues as well, but was working on controlling it per advice from his psychologist he saw on a bi-weekly basis.

While there isn't like an test or an exam to take in order to apply, you do have to go through with a psychological and physical workup beforehand to be approved. Nathan had passed these, now he just needed to come into his local office that was recently built to get interviewed and fill out his preferences on monsters he liked.

Our man had arrived at the main office at the headquarters and watched as the large line was filled with humans and liminals looking to apply. They ranged from Lamias, birds of prey, to vicious yet endearing predators. The air and energy decorated the office with excitement and glee. The best part to Nathan however, was that nearly every liminal he saw was attractive.

Our man himself didn't think much of himself in the same esteem, however. He wasn't a horrible looking guy, just very… Average. Not to say his game with the ladies was bad. He'd been on his share of dates and had some relationships in the past. Nathan just thought of himself as a very, run of the mill kind of guy. Maybe that was part of the charm.

"I can help whoever's next!" A helpful receptionist finally called out to him after a very long wait, the line in front of him finally being empty.

"Are you here to apply or to finish the interview?" She asked, glancing at him from her chair.

"Oh, I've already applied, just have the interview left to do." He said with a grin.

"Oh great, that'll save me and you some time!" She said enthused. "Desks are over there. Your interviewer will be there to help figure out the details. Hope you enjoy your time as a Host!" The receptionist smiled again and quickly fixed her attention on the next guest behind him greeting them with a hello.

He quickly found his way to the desks and smiled with excitement. Other people and liminals were filling out papers as well, some of the monsters however required assistance from the staff in order to fill it in. It was quite the sight. Humans, and liminals working together, each side wanting to get to know the other. Nathan was was overwhelmed just looking at it all.

"It's quite something, ain't it?" A man next to him said.

He looked over to his right to see the man. He was tall, not as tall as Nathan tough. He was in his early thirties, with a sharp look in his brown eyes. His hair was jet black, slicked back in a style similar to Nathans. He wore a tight black suit with matching tie and white button up. He looked straight out some some spy or action movie.

"Excuse me?" Nathan responded.

The man made a hand gesture to all the commotion going on around them. "All of this. It's quite something."

"Are you one of the interviewers?" Nathan asked.

He nodded. "That, and then some. Have a seat, if you would."

Nathan got down in the seat in front of the spy man and took the free seat.

"I'm Crowley. I work here for the branch as one of their agents." He held out his hand for Nathan to shake. Nathan took his hand and shook it. He had a strong, firm hand. The type you'd have if you spent a long time doing physical labor.

"I'm Nathan. There a first name to that, Agent Crowley?" He said with a smirk.

Crowley returned the same smirk. "Maybe. Have to kill you if I told you."

Nathan chuckled a little, nervous. "Serious?"

Crowley returned the chuckle with a good laugh. "Nah, of course not. Sounded pretty tough though, huh? Always wanted to say something like that."

Nathan humored the spy man and nodded. "You had me scared for a sec, not gonna lie."

"Oh good. Still not telling you the name. Privacy's sake, you know." He fiddled with his hands for a second.

Nathan wondered if this guy actually worked here. "Soooo, I need an interview…?

Crowley raised a finger in the air, recalling what he was supposed to be doing.

"Ah, yes! I just need your application to look over for a second. You brought it with you, I'm assuming?"

Our man nodded. "Yeah, I got it right he-" Nathan pulled out the slip of paper that was promptly snatched out of his hands.

"Oh good! Now we can get this rolling!" He looked over the form quickly, fingers pointing out details to himself.

"Uhh-"

"Nathaniel Walker. Male. 21. Employed. First time applicant." He paused before saying this last part, looking up at Nathan from the form. "Single."

Nathan cringed after he said that. "Uh, yeah. I'm single. Are you sure you work here?"

Crowley laughed a little bit. "Oh sorry. Just clearing the air. So, you wanna see what all the hype is about eh? Why liminals are all the rage nowadays?"

Nathan nodded. "I guess. More so a change of pace. Things just getting old, living all by myself."

"Quite the pace changer then. It'll really shake up how you live. I'd know. I am a Host, myself."

Nathan cocked an eyebrow. "Really? I didn't know you guys who worked here get to be apart of it. What do you got?"

Crowley nodded. "We always have been able to, most just prefer not to since we get our fill working here every day. I got a mangy, little crow cooped up at my place."

Nathan scratched the back of his head. "Mangy? You mean old?"

"Not at all. " Crowley replied. "I just like to call her that. She hates it."

"Oh."

Crowley continued. "I'm getting sidetracked. We need to go over your physical and psychological workups before we continue. You have those as well?"

"Oh, right." Nathan pulled out those papers as well and gave them to the spy man.

Crowley read over them for a minute, his brow furrowing every now and again as he read along. This felt more like a job interview in Nathan's eyes instead of something like an adoption.

Crowley stopped reading and looked up. "Your pretty healthy for your age. I'd say above average from just looking. You work out?"

Nathan shrugged. "Not really. Is that important?"

"Maybe." Crowley said, and continued to read on.

This guy either was either very good at his job, or really fickle. Probably both.

"Physical checks out. Now for the psychological." He handed him back the one form and lifted up the other.

Crowley seemed to be more diligent when it came to this one. He seemed to pause and look up at him every so often, then back to the paper.

"Uh-" Nathan was about to ask if something was wrong before Crowley finally spoke up.

"You've quite the medical history. Former drug addict. You've had multiple psychologists for your anger issues and bouts of depression. Also says here you've got… PTSD?"

Nathan sighed and paused for a second before answering. "Yes, I have PTSD. Have had it for about five years."

Crowley fold his long arms over the form. "Now, what's such a young and bright guy like you have such a horrible condition? Not trying to pry, of course. Just... curious is all."

Nathan's open attitude changed for a split second. "It's personal. None of your business."

"Of course. My bad. Should know better to ask that to someone with that." Crowley continued to read when he heard Nathan sigh loudly.

"I-I just don't like thinking about it." Nathan paused." Why does the mental checkup matter so much, Mr. Crowley?"

The spy man set down the other form. "Well," Crowley continued. "We'd like to know that we can trust you won't have your new homestays head on a pike."

Nathan waved his hands in front of him. "O-Oh no, I'd never hurt-"

Crowley chuckled again. "Sorry. Bit of an exaggeration. We here just want to make sure your past doesn't interfere with their future."

"Well I can assure you, Mr. Crowley." Nathan said determined. "My past won't be an issue. I didn't come here to fix myself, or my problems. I want to just help out someone, whoever and whatever they are."

Crowley almost seemed impressed. Nathan couldn't tell.

"Is that so?" He said with a smirk. "Well, that's not something I hear every day."

He collected the papers and handed them back to our man. "I don't need these anymore. I'd already made up my mind."

Nathan grew nervous, and excited at the same time. "So?"

Crowley folded his long arms. "If it were up to someone else, they'd probably say you couldn't handle it."

Nathan's heart dropped for a second. Crowley then continued.

"But since you're stuck with little ol' me, I have a different idea. I'd say your someone who knows what it means to take care of yourself, and others. It takes someone with a past to understand another. I don't say this often and I really shouldn't since it makes me look unprofessional."

"Say what?" Nathan asked curiously.

"I have a good feeling about you. Not sure how to describe it in words."

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow, so does this mean…"

Crowley nodded. "Yup. I'm approving you for the program. Congratulations."

Nathan almost felt like jumping into the air in joy and excitement. All the work and time he'd put into his job and saving money had finally paid off. "So, what do we do now?"

Crowley pulled out another piece of paper from under his desk. "Well, we need to decide who's going to stay with you. We used to randomly pick from the list of those who were in need of homes, but we've evolved from that."

Nathan stopped celebrating in his head for a moment. "Wait a second. I get to pick?"

Crowley slid the new paper over to him. "Three years ago you wouldn't have been able to. But seeing as our program has been getting more and more applicants from both sides all the time, we can find situations that are more agreeable. Less complications when the host and the liminal is happy, you know?"

That made sense to Nathan. "I suppose so." He looked down at the paper. "Another form?"

"More like a survey. Crowley corrected him. "We'd like to know what exactly you'd want. And if we somehow can't provide that, we'll find something close to it."

"Oh okay." Nathan replied. "Sounds easy enough."

Crowley just chuckled to himself under his breath. "Easy, eh? I think we'll get along just fine."

"What?" Nathan asked confused.

"Oh, nothing. Just clearing my throat. Please, start filling it out as honestly as you can."

Our man took his attention to the new paper in front of him. As strange as Crowley seemed to be, Nathan liked him. He seemed to really like what he did for a living.

It was finally time to decide what he wanted. The little questionnaire started off with a pretty simple question:

Question 1:

What would you prefer to have as your home-stay? If it is available, it will take priority over a random request.

He sat there for a second, thinking over what he like to have. He didn't think for a minute they would just let him pick.

His imagination went wild with the ideas he had concocted on numerous occasions in the past. He'd seen some people in his neighborhood with really cute ones. Did he want something tame, easily workable with? Or did he want something more...dangerous? No, that's not how he should be going about this. Nathan wasn't here trying to fill a kink.

"Whoever needs a good home. I'll do my best to make sure they are happy and comfortable, no matter what they are or who they are." Nathan decided finally. It felt good to write it down.

Question 2:

Due to the high activity in recent times, we can't always send our agents out to check in on our home-stays. Would you be alright with allowing weekly video calls and emails?

Nathan wrote down a "Yes", and also wrote his Skype profile and his email address. It made sense. The people at this office were constantly getting bombarded with new people and liminals looking to apply.

Question 3:

Can you guarantee your new home-stays safety and ease of living? And if necessary, allow the program to make whatever modifications and needs to your current place of living?

Our man wrote down another "Yes". He'd seen some of the houses around lately, and how most of them had additional rooms and space. It made sense. Nothing wrong here.

Question 4:

Do understand and remember the laws against human/liminal violence, and how we handle those situations?

He wrote yet another "Yes". Nathan once saw a group of hulking ogre-men that refused to leave a restaurant he was at recently. They got violent, and almost put the manager into the wall when someone in a yellow and black outfit stepped in and told them off. He heard from someone else they were called the MON Squad. Apparently they were a Monster only task force that would neutralize liminal threats quickly and quietly. Not the type of people you'd want to mess with.

He reached the last question.

Question 5: You are expected to comply and obey this order at all times. Under no circumstances is any sexual activity tolerated. If reported and caught, you might not only face jail time, but also lose your rights to become a Host afterwards. Do you understand this, and are willing to comply?

Nathan shuddered at the thought of this.

The biggest thing that used to could go wrong from a Host family back in the day is if sexual activity is reported and confirmed. The Host loses custody and is not allowed to reapply, and the extra-species is deported back to their place to origin. Even political tension can arise from the activity if it goes that far.

Romance and sexual attraction is very common in host families, and most tend to go want to together. Nowadays if you want to do the dirty with your monster waifu, you have to at least be married and consent from the extra-species's relatives. Quite the sticky situation, if you'll forgive the pun.

Nathan wrote down, "I have reviewed the laws and will follow them to the best of my ability."

Bummer, Nathan thought for a moment. But hey, that's the law. He'll have to follow it whether he wants to or not. The liminals however, would need to really follow this law.

It was done. He handed back the paper to a patiently waiting Crowley.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to take a long time."

"It's fine. As long as it's honest that's all I require." He started to read his answers to himself but stopped pretty quickly. "You don't...have a preference?" Crowley raised a brow at Nathan. He received a shrug from Nathan in return.

"I just want to help in any way I can. However and whatever I can." Nathan looked into Crowley's sharp eyes with his dull blue ones, filled with determination.

Crowley stroked the stubble that was on his chin and pondered something to himself. "Perhaps…maybe he can."

"What was that?" Nathan asked.

"Just thinking." He said and continued to ponder to himself. "She's had such a hard time finding a home…" He looked back into Nathan's still determined blue eyes. "Would he be able to handle it?"

Nathan's gaze didn't back down. He looked uncertain, but ready.

Crowley stopped pondering and acknowledged Nathan again. "You continue to surprise me, Nathan."

Nathan let his gaze go. "So, who do I get then?"

Crowley leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "I don't have her information on me at the moment… But if you are serious about helping whoever you can then I'm sure she'll be okay with it."

Nathan looked confused again. "Who's she?"

Crowley didn't seem to register his question. "Guess you'll just have to find out. Well then Nathan, looks like we are done here."

"We are?"

Crowley nodded and stood up from his chair. "I have to hand this form over to my superiors, and they'll start to get everything transferred to you. It'll take a few days, but you'll get a call from me when it's all ready to go."

He held out his hand again for Nathan to shake. "It was nice meeting you, Nathan. I look forward to working with you. You've made a good choice, applying for the program. It'll change your life, I promise."

Nathan shook his hand firmly. "Same here, Mr. Crowley."

"I trust you'll be able to find yourself out as well as you came in?" The spy man asked.

He nodded and waved his hand. "I'll find my own way. Thank you. Have a nice day, sir."

Nathan got up and started to walk out the room. He took one more look at the room, as well as Crowley and the other people in it. He finally walked out the door.

Crowley sat back down in his seat, looking worried a little.

"I hope your ready for this, kid. I really do."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

So a few days went by, and Nathan didn't hear a peep from the mysterious Crowley or anyone else. Nathan tried to be patient, but as time went on he wondered if he had been denied. Did the spy man's superiors turn him down? Maybe, maybe not. All he knew what he'd get a call soon.

He was at his job at the moment, pondering this over a little bit. Nathan worked at the local convenience store, owned and managed his family friend Doug. While he didn't talk to his parents much, especially after the incident, Doug was someone he liked and talked to every day. He thought of Doug as another dad, someone he could trust.

Doug was a self made man, someone who decided one day that he had what it took to own and run a business himself. The store may have been small, but what he lacked in the size of the store he had quality in spades. He made sure everything in his store was worth the money, and had employees that he could depend on and trust.

Nathan was hired shortly after his junior year in high school had ended, and he'd been there ever since. Even when the accident happened a year into his employment, Doug understood his plight and generously kept him on. Sometimes, even offering to carpool Nathan to rehab after he lost his license for a time due to his drug addiction at the time.

Nathan looked up at the clock next to him and groaned a little to himself. He had another half hour to go before his shift ended. The day had been pretty uneventful, so Doug had put Nathan in the back to manage stock and the like. His best friend Justice was in the back with him, playing on his phone.

Justice was a long time friend, one of the only people he kept in contact with after high school came and went. He was a very funny and charming guy, Nathan wondered why he'd never really had any significant other in his life. Justice claimed he just never felt like it was too important to him.

Justice was shorter than Nathan by a few inches, and was the same age as him. He was of Spanish race and heritage, but never really clung to any of it too much. He was going to school as well as Nathan, but was studying to become a forensic analyst. Nathan was just doing his generals at the moment, he still wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life. Especially after the accident.

Justice was there for him when it happened, and didn't leave his side. He was there when the withdrawal would hit, and would help him get back off his ass every time he stumbled in therapy. Nathan would never be able to repay him for what he'd done, so he always kept in contact with him. He'd found a friend for life.

"Hey white boy, why the resting bitch face?" Justice said with a joking smile, glancing over at the face Nathan had plastered on his face most of the day.

"Oh sorry." Nathan turned to face his friend. "Just thinking about the other day, when I applied for the Program. They said they would call me back in a few days, but I haven't heard a peep from them since."

Justice put his phone away and gave him an encouraging pat on his shoulder. "They'll call you back, count on it. They'd be stupid to not accept a mediocre, uninteresting guy such as yourself."

Nathan chuckled at the joke. Justice's direct humor always knew how to keep him levelheaded. "Mediocre, huh? That's a new one."

"I can't keep pulling genius out of my ass constantly. That shit gets sore over time." Justice paused for his joke to land. "Real talk though, I'm really glad you decided to apply. It'll do you some good, not being alone in that house anymore. I know that ever since-"

Nathan interrupted him, not wanting to hear about the incident right now. "Yeah, I'm glad I applied too. I just hope I don't make a bad impression."

Justice stroked his black goatee, which he had growing very well for him. "I've known you for how many years, bud? The only time you made a bad impression was when you passed out at the homecoming dance from all the pressure. You made me look bad."

Nathan cringed at the memory of that dance. He didn't have a date, but Justice took him over to party away, and to see if they couldn't steal away some girls. He'd gotten so nervous that he'd passed out cold, leaving Justice to leave the dance early. "Thanks for reminding me. I hadn't remembered that in ages. Now I'm traumatized, and embarrassed."

Justice chuckled. "That's what I'm here for buddy. To keep your dumb ass humble and take you down a peg."

Nathan chuckled as well. "Where would I be without you?"

"In a ditch, probably. Or maybe a McDonald's Play-place crying." Justice said, examining some of the stock that was on a shelf behind him.

Nathan laughed again and went back to his work, making sure that everything was good to go. This shift had finally ended, and he was now clocking out in the main office, where Doug was currently writing some stuff down.

"So I expect to see you in Monday, opening shift?" Doug asked, looking over at Nathan.

Nathan nodded back to Doug and smiled. "Yeah, of course. I'll just need to remember to not forget my keys again, like last time."

Doug didn't really act like a boss around Nathan, mainly because of the soft spot he had for him. Nathan never took it for granted though.

Doug smirked. "Good. It's nice to see you with a smile on that sharp face of yours. I've missed it." Doug looked Nathan over. "Everything been good at home? You talk to your parents at all?"

Nathan sighed and shrugged. "...No. It's still been kind of awkward. Especially with my dad. I still don't know how to talk to them."

Doug sighed in response. "I get it. I know the drug thing is still fresh in their mind, but you really just need to tell them you're okay. I'm not trying to be your parent, It's just…"

Nathan nodded. He knew what Doug was going to say.

"I have kids of my own remember? I just worry about you sometimes, just like my two at home. I just want you to be happy."

Nathan nodded again. "I know, Doug. Thanks for always looking out for me."

"I always do. Now get out of this stuffy old store and enjoy your weekend, like young adults should. Let this old man do the rest." Doug said with a warm smile.

"Gladly." Nathan said with a grin on his face as well and walked out of the office, heading out the front door.

Nathan opened the door to his 2010 Black Nissan Sentra and got into the driver's seat. It was a car his dad had gotten for him, as a graduation present. It was nice car, one he had the gratitude for helping him get home on the more depressing days in his life.

He turned the ignition and started up the car, pulling it out of his parking spot and out of the store lot. He headed up the long straight road, observing some people walking on the sidewalks, some of them with their liminals accompanying them.

Nathan looked at them with a small amount of envy. He hoped that he'd be able to soon do that with a liminal of his own. Nathan started to daydream a little about it when his phone rang. Could it be the mysterious Mr. Crowley? Was the wait finally over?

He excitedly put the phone to his ear and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mister Walker." A silky smooth female voice said to him in return. "I hope the last few days have been going well for you. I'm with the Program."

Nathan was confused. "Uh, I thought Agent Crowley would be calling me. Who are you?"

The voice answered back after a second. "Crowley was busy with other things at the office at the moment. He asked me if I could talk to you in his stead. He's a good friend of mine. Spoke highly of you as well."

"Okay…" Nathan paused, turning into another lane. "So is everything ready?"

"Oh yes." The silky smooth voice responded. "I'm actually waiting for you at your house right now to sign everything off. Nice place."

Nathan almost swerved and had to correct himself before responding again. "Oh uh, that's great… I'm just on the road right now from working heading home. I'll be there soon. Sorry, I didn't think you'd call today."

"It's all right. We would have been there sooner, but we had some...issues along the way."

Nathan got nervous for some reason. " Issues? What kind of issues?"

The voice replied again. "It's a long story. I'll explain it to you once you've arrived."

"Uh, okay then… I guess I'll see you soon?" Nathan said.

He didn't get a reply back. She must have hung up already. These agents were an interesting bunch.

He arrived at his home shortly after the call ended and stopped near his house. The lady or whoever she claimed to be decided to park their car in his driveway. He sighed, and just parked it on the side of the street. Nathan would have to move it later.

He got out of his car, locked the doors, and started up his driveway. The car the agent had was very inconspicuous, pure black with dark tinted windows. He couldn't even see inside the car from the outside. Must like their privacy, Nathan thought.

He walked to his front door and opened it, silence was the only thing that greeted him. Creepy. Kind of.

"Uh, hello? I'm home." He called out. Nathan felt dumb for a second after saying that.

He heard that same silky smooth voice calling from his living room.

"Oh good, you finally showed up. Almost thought you wouldn't."

Nathan strolled into his living room to see the woman sitting in his armchair, casually sipping on a drink of some kind. Did this person seriously go through his fridge and help herself? Yeah, that totally doesn't break any privacy barriers or anything like that.

Nathan almost half-expected to see a monster of some kind as a joke, but the only thing that was in front of him in the chair was a long, black haired woman in a tight black suit jacket and matching pant-skirt with dark, thick sunglasses on. She almost was in a way a gender-bent version of Crowley. Maybe even a little too similar. She looked good, great for whatever age she was. Nathan couldn't guess it though.

"Nathaniel?" She said, lifting her sunglasses a little. Why was she wearing sunglasses inside anyway? Must be a spy thing or whatever.

He nodded. "Uh, Nathan. Just Nathan." He let out a small nervous laugh.

She nodded and looked down at the clipboard she had in her hand, reviewing its contents, then looked by up at him. It looked like she was comparing himself to whatever was written on that clipboard. "Huh. Not what I expected. Crowley must have been exaggerating again. Your coffee is awful by the way, way too sweet for my taste."

Nathan would have been offended by those condescending remarks normally, but he chose to let it slide. The woman continued.

"Normally I would just hand over the rights right now and sign the final forms and go on my merry way... but due to how your interview went and the survey-" She paused for a second for effect. "We may have a problem."

He suddenly felt nervous all of the sudden. What had he gotten himself into? "What kind of problem?" Nathan sat down in the other chair across from her.

She saw that he looked a little nervous and let out a small laugh. "Oh sorry, forgive me..." She took off her thick sunglasses revealing her dark, grey eyes. "I'm Agent Smith, a liminal social worker from Japan visiting America. Normally Crowley would have handled this himself but..."

"But what?" Nathan managed to squeezed the conversation into before she continued. What exactly had Crowley said?

"...This is a unique case. You're a first time applicant, with a complicated and risky mental history. We never would have taken this in a normal circumstances, but since Crowley has such a bleeding heart for people like you, he approved you and now here we are." Smith seemed to be annoyed.

"Am I in trouble or something, Agent Smith?" He said with a inaudible gulp.

"Not quite. I just need to make sure for myself you were the real deal." She paused again, searching for the right words. "Look, we just really want this girl to find a home. She's been in and out of so many Crowley, I and a few others were worried she'd never find a place to permanently stay."

"Oh..." He said in response.

"Us at the office didn't think you'd would be up to handling this. Even some experienced hosts have had issues to her adjusting. But, Crowley vouches for you, which means something to me."

"Means what, exactly?" Nathan asked.

"It means he trusts you. He thinks you can handle this." Her professionalism faded for a minute. "It means I would like to trust you, too."

Nathan felt a little flattered. He must have made a really good impression on the ever mysterious Crowley for her to say that. Smith continued. "It's not like you don't have a say in this matter. Do you think you can do this, Nathan?" She looked at him worried.

He paused before he answered her.

How bad could it really be? Was she a troublemaker, or was it something worse? Bad temper? If he said no at this moment, whoever was in that car would have to be turned away, forced to look for another home that may or may not exist for them. No, he thought to himself. I won't hold any reservations about her. I'll treat her like I would treat anyone else. It's the right thing to do. The only thing to do.

"I'll take her, no matter what or who she is. I won't turn her away." He said finally. Smith's worried expression turned into an impressed grin.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes." He responded after a small pause. Too late to back out now even if he wanted to.

Smith seemed satisfied. "Looks like Crowley may have known what he was talking about for once." She pushed up her glasses and spoke. "Alright, Nathan." She got up out of the chair and held her hand out. "Let's go meet your new friend."

Nathan took the hand and shook it. She had a grip and hold that betrayed her slender, but attractive frame. She must have been doing this for a long time, Nathan thought.

They both walked outside and onto his driveway. She gave a nod to the black car in front of them, signaling for however was in there it was okay to come out.

The door didn't move open for a second, but then it slowly swung open.

A furry, onyx-black women now stood outside the car, her dark fiery red eyes gazing deeply at him and into his soul. She was covered in soft, black fur with tinges of red that was on her forearms and legs. A small tuft of fur was also between her well-endowed breasts. Her skin was a dark tone, almost black. Her long, wild black hair that went down the middle of her back was accompanied by her black fuzzy ears on the top.

"Nathan, this is Fenra. She's a Hellhound." Smith said as the woman walked up the driveway, her large padded feet taking her across quickly. Her fluffy tail was wagging from side to side, something he didn't see her have at first. "Fenra, this is Nathan. He's happily agreed to be your new Host."

"Hello there, little man." She said with a seductive grin, her long, fluffy tail swaying from side to side.

"Uh, Hellhound?" Nathan looked dumbfounded at Smith and the hound. "You mean like the myths and stories?"

Smith nodded. "The stories took creative liberties, of course. But I'd say they were pretty spot on. I'd recommend following up online for more information. You'd be surprised the stuff you'll find out."

Nathan found himself unable to look away from Fenra's burning eyes. The seemed to entrance and entice just from the look of them.

He stuttered for a second before getting out the words. "U-uh, It's um... Nice to meet you, Fenra. My name's Nathan, but I guess you already know that now. It's uh, good to finally see you. I hope we get along well."

Fenra laughed and grinned a devilish smile, her large fangs showing. "Oh my, I think someones a little nervous, don't you think, Smith? Don't worry little man, I don't bite... Too hard."

Smith seemed to nod to herself and wrote something down on the clipboard. "Like I said before, Fenra has had difficulties finding a permanent home. The last few homes had declined to her stay shortly after her arrival, and we didn't think it'd get any better."

Nathan continued to stare into her burning eyes for a moment, seemingly lost in them again.

Smith broke the stare by clearing her throat.

"I hate to ruin a first meeting, but I have to run. Help Fenra get her luggage and into the house and I'll make sure Crowley contacts you in a few days to see how it's going." She set down toward the car on the driveway. "Good luck!"

"Uh, but-" He called out. Smith was already pulling out her car and heading on her way. Was she for real? Then he remembered Crowley, and things didn't seem that weird.

Fenra walked closer to him, her toned and suggestive body finally registering in his brain. "What's wrong, little man? You scared? I certainly hope not..."

He vigorously shook his head, and looked back into Fenra's burning eyes. Couldn't let himself get intimidated already. "N-Not at all. Let me get your bags."

"Would you please? That's a good boy."

She set them down, her large padded hands finally coming into view. Nathan had large hands, but her black paws were easily twice his size. She had long, sharp black claws for her nails. Easily lethal if she wanted to be.

He slowly walked over, they being less than a few feet away from each other at this point, Fenra's burning eyes haunting him every step of the way.

She wore practically nothing. All she had on was a black undergarment that hugged her ass tightly, and metal ornaments adorned her large breasts. They didn't seem to have much of a use besides letting her more personal parts just flop about. Her choker/collar was adorned with skulls and sharp spikes, Nathan wondered how she had put on it on in the first place.

He picked up the two bags and lifted them towards the direction of the house. They were surprising pretty light. Nathan guessed either she had little possessions to call her own, or didn't plan on this being a very long trip.

"Come on in, welcome home." He motioned for Fenra to follow.

Fenra walked into the house and looked around approvingly, almost as if she was a parent returning from a vacation far away. Nathan had spent most of the last few days trying to get the house into pristine condition and order. A clean and tidy house reflects what's inside the mind. Something his mom used to say to him when he was little.

"Oh, you even cleaned the place while I was away. Good boy." She placed a paw on his head and petted him slowly. Her large pawed hand completely covered the top of head, radiating heat. Her sharp and deadly claws softly brushing his hair.

Nathan blushed for a quick moment and quickly ducked under the large hand.

"It was nothing. Wouldn't want a dirty home to come to, right? Uh, I'll place your bags in the guest room."

"What about your room?" She asked him.

Oh dear god.

She smiled again, her large fangs coming into view. Fenra started to pace around him, her tail brushing up against him as she went along. She seemed to be sizing Nathan up in some way. Not like if she thought he was intimidating in some way, but like which spot she should start tearing the meat from his bones. She even sniffed him a little bit, something Nathan almost jumped up at.

"It's down across from you. Why do you ask?" He was getting anxious.

"Oh no special reason, little man...just curious is all. You smell delicious..." She was obviously planning something. He didn't want to know what.

"Um, I'll just be moving your bags now…"

He nodded past the Hellhound and moved her light suitcases into the guest room, leaving the hound alone for a second. Was this actually happening? Was that woman actually in his house, or did he fall asleep at his desk again after staying up too late? Nathan pinched himself a little. Nope. This was real. Maybe a little too real.

But then Nathan caught himself. I said I wouldn't judge her quickly. Maybe she's just, really open? That didn't make Nathan feel much better either.

He quickly moved back into his room and plopped down into his desk chair. He sighed loudly and rubbed his forehead, eyes closed. He felt exhausted. Not only did he just come back from work after a long day, he was now the caretaker of a possibly threatening Hellhound. Just a normal day for him, apparently. He breathed deeply in and out for a few seconds.

It was fine. Nothing was wrong. Everything is okay. Nathan reminded himself for the billionth time. He would do this when he was worried or stressed. A half hour or so had now passed when Nathan realized he had dozed off a little. Shit.

"Hey, Handsome."

Nathan turned around quickly to see his new friend leaning against the doorway to his room, her long fluffy tail swaying. She must have been watching his little nap occur. Was that creepy? Probably.

"Oh hi Fenra. Finished unpacking already?"

"Yes." She paused for a second. "Thank you Pet, for letting me stay here with you. I thought for a second before you came that I'd have to find another place to get kicked out from."

He cringed at the thought of being her "pet". Who wouldn't? He did feel bad for the Hellhound though. She really did look like she was grateful to him. He got over himself and replied with the following.

"It's no big deal, don't worry about it. I would have done it for anyone else. Just let me know if you need anything, okay? I want to get along as well as we can."

Fenra seemed to really like that answer, as her tail swung rapidly with supposed happiness.

"Good looking, and polite on the first meeting? Oh my Pet, I'm going to enjoy making you mine." Her voice practically oozed out sexual overtones.

"Uhh..."

He tensed up, not sure what was to come next. That doesn't sound like something Nathan would like. There had to be a merciful god somewhere that would listen to his pleas for help. They must've been laughing their asses off or stoned. Probably both.

She leaned off the doorway and slowly walked toward him, her wide hips swaying back and forth. It was almost if she was chemically created to entice and excite. Nathan's heart rate began to pick up pace quickly, this was not going to end well for him.

Fenra's body irradiated pure confidence and sexuality, and she seemed to enjoy Nathan's stares at her voluptuous features as she walked towards him.

"Don't be afraid dear Pet, I only want to cuddle with you..."

 **(SOME EDGY SHIT INBOUND)**

Fenra sat down slowly on his lap, pulling Nathan's face close to her furry bosom. Fenra had soft and supple skin, and even softer fur. She was petting his head softly with her claws, her tail wagging from side to side in sinister delight.

His face was beet red, and he was sweating a little. "I-I think we have two different meanings to what cuddling me-"

"Shhh..." She whispered into his ear, cutting of his sentence. The sound almost wiggling itself into his brain like a parasite. "You've been a good boy, and now I'm giving you a reward. Just relax.."

Fenra lent her head toward the side of his neck, and softly started to gnaw on it. It was pointless to resist. Struggle as he might, Her grip was too hard to get out of. Her sharp, powerful teeth easily punctured his fragile skin. The teeth and fang marks would remain for a while afterwards, small amounts of blood seeped out of the fresh wounds and trickled down his neck. He would have objected, but he couldn't feel the pain, all he felt was a growing hotness inside of him, that continued to build with every bite. She slowly licked the blood that had spilled out of the wound with her long malicious tongue, planting a soft kiss on the bite marks when she was finished.

"This is my Mark. You belong to me now, dear Pet. Now, I'll take good care of you..."

She held him close to her body, the heat from her chest and breasts overwhelming his senses and his will to control. He still couldn't escape. Her strong grasp impossible to break. Nathan wasn't in charge of his own body anymore. He started to slip away. The Hellhound had him.

His consciousness started to fade away, everything slowly going to black in his vision, sound leaving his ears only to be replaced by silence. There was only one thought in his head that he could remember from that moment as time and space seemed to fall apart.

What had he gotten himself into?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **A/N: Hello, nice to meet any and all readers that come across this abomination. I have made a few stories in the past, but never felt like sticking with them. This one however, I feel differently about. This is a planned ahead long term project, so do not worry about updates or possible hiatuses.**

 **I haven't written much in the last few years, so this is my return to writing. I will be posting this on multiple sites, so I can get more feedback to make this even better.**

 **Please feel free to comment on this, I'd like to hear what you all think, especially if you got any great ideas. Have a great day guys! Don't forget to make sure you keep your friends close, and your Monsters closer!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Memory

**A/N: What's good guys? Thank so much to those who left all the really encouraging reviews and the tons of follows and favorites I got in the last few days. I had posted a draft of this fic on Waatpad a few weeks ago, but got no real responses to it. I then made the decision to scrap the entire fic and start over again on here.**

 **The original draft for this chapter I had was only 5,000 words. I wasn't satisfied with it neither would you guys have been. I decided to redo the whole thing because you guys deserved better. So lucky you.**

 **Also, thanks for the guy who reminded me to do proofreading. I really should remember to look harder and slower when editing these.**

 **Not gonna hold you down any longer, let's see what Nathan is up to.**

 **Hit the lights.**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Nathan felt that all too familiar feeling inside of his gut.

The intense vibrations, the screaming, and the sounds of blaring sirens all around him. It swirled around in this mind, growing in intensity with each passing second. He tried to cover his ears to block out the sounds, but it didn't help. It never did. When he pulled his hands back into his view, they were coated in thick, dark blood. His clothing was covered in it as well.

You did this. His mind reminded him. It was your fault.

"No!" Nathan would cry out in retaliation every time it called to him. "It was just an accident! It's not my fault!"

But it was Nathan's fault. He knew that. He was just scared to admit it to himself. The screams and crying got louder and louder, and the dark blood started to flood his mind. He started to drown in it, the blood consuming him and blocking his vision.

There was no escape, no running away.

He pleaded and protested for it to end, but it never would. He needed to pay for what he'd done. Nathan needed to redeem himself, somehow, someway.

But how?

Nathan finally awoke with a start, his heart rapidly pounding and a cold sweat trickling down his neck. It was just a dream, he remembered. A dream he had all the time. It wasn't always the same kind of dream, though. He'd would always have the same feeling inside after it was over.

Guilt.

Nathan knew it was only a dream, and that it couldn't hurt or do anything to him. But it was real in his eyes, all too real. The pain and gut feeling he felt was so natural, it was almost like a memory he had blocked out and was cursed to repeat for eternity. Nathan wanted to block it out. To forget.

Why couldn't it just leave him alone?

Speaking of forgetting something, Nathan could not remember what happened the rest of last night. He looked around his room, and realized he was in his bed. How had he gotten there? Then Nathan remembered.

The Hellhound.

Was she just a dream as well? No, she was real all right. All too real. Nathan was being cradled by his hellhound in a tight embrace. Her face was nuzzled in his chest, using him as a pillow. She was cutely and quietly snoring. It would have been cute, Nathan thought. If he wasn't pinned to the bed, at least.

He struggled for a moment, seeing if he could break out of Fenra's clutches. No use. He sighed. Nathan would have to wait until she woke up. He was trying again to think of some way of getting out of her grip again but Fenra started to stir, her ears twitching and fluffy tail swaying. She was cute, Nathan admitted to himself. For a hellspawn.

"Mmmm..." She nuzzled into his chest, a soft yawn escaping her mouth. "Good morning, Pet."

"Uh, morning."

Fenra looked up from nuzzling his chest, her burning eyes piercing right through him. "You look like you had a rough night. Trouble sleeping, Pet?"

He always had trouble sleeping. The nightmares just made it more apparent how exhausted and tired his eyes looked.

Nathan tried to change the subject. "Something like that. Uh, not trying to be rude, but why exactly are you in my bed? What happened last night?"

She smirked and tousled his brown hair with her furry paw. "Oh nothing, handsome. You were tired, so I put you to bed. You looked so cute while you slept though, so I decided to sleep in here instead. You're an excellent snuggler, by the way. Nice and warm."

Nathan groaned. He was thankful though. "You know, part of me wants to believe that's the whole story. The smarter part of me however says you did things to me I can't remember."

She simply gave him a wink.

That did it.

"Yeah, okay. I'm just gonna pretend I didn't see that. Will you please let me go, so I can take a shower and get dressed?"

She nuzzled back into his chest. "I don't know, Pet. I'm pretty comfortable with the way things are right now..."

He sighed. "Pretty please?"

She finally relented. "I guess I can let you go for second... only because you're so well behaved."

She released her hold on him, and he finally shot up, yawning and stretching his arms. He gave the hellspawn a little nod. "You're a kind master." He said sarcastically as he crept his way over to his bathroom, leaving Fenra on the bed alone.

Nathan stopped to look himself in the bathroom mirror. He looked ragged, small bags under his eyes. They'd go away, the dull look in his eyes wouldn't though. He took a minute to examine the vicious bite mark he had on his neck. The indentations from her fangs and teeth were visible, and what looked to be some kind of hickey had taken up space on his neck. She'd definitely left a mark on him, alright. One that wouldn't go away for some time.

That wasn't the weird part, though. Her "Mark" that was on his neck didn't hurt in the slightest. Almost as if he had been numb the entire time he had been receiving it. So it didn't hurt. That was something he could work with.

He got undressed and stepped into the clear glass shower, letting the hot water beat down against him. It made him sleepy, and he wished he could already take a nap. He closed his eyes, trying to rub away the dryness that had taken hold in his sleep. He tried to forget about the dream. It struggled to get out of his head, but finally decided it had run its course and finally let him be. He'd be able to enjoy the rest of the day, but needed to be careful in what he thought about. As soon as he opened his eyes again, he saw a silhouette standing in the doorway from the steamed glass. Fenra must have been checking up on him.

He thought she was going to do or say something, but Nathan was proven wrong. Her murky form lingered for a moment or two longer, and then finally disappeared from the doorway, and he let out a sigh of relief. He was alone again. Something he was grateful and sad for at the same time.

The rest of his shower time had gone smoothly, and Nathan appreciated the space. He got dressed in a dark blue T-shirt and brown cargo shorts, one of his more casual outfits. It was still summer, after all. Nathan wasn't a fan of the hot weather. He much rather preferred a temperature in which he could wear his favorite red hood. But that was a far off fantasy at the moment. He still felt sleepy, so Nathan decided to make up a pot of his apparently "bad" coffee as Smith put it, in his kitchen. Something told him that he would need it.

He started making up the pot, wondering what the plans for his Saturday would be. Nathan poured the energizing liquid his favorite brown mug with his favorite vanilla creamer in it. He took a spoon from his cabinet and slowly stirred it, the white liquid of the creamer being swallowed up by the blackness that was the coffee. He stirred until he achieved a pleasing color of light brown and took a sniff of it. The smell of almonds filled his nostrils. Good stuff.

He sat down on his living room couch and turned on the morning news. Nothing much was really going on, the monster program had mellowed out most world affairs issues. Of course you still had those naysayers and people who disagree with the program, but nothing is universally accepted by everyone. At the moment they were talking about some of the recent hate crimes that had been going down in his local area. He felt bad for the liminals that had to deal with this.

He heard Fenra's silky voice behind him.

"Pet, what is that delicious scent? I smelled it all the way from your room." She was wearing one of his longer white t shirts, which lead Nathan to assume she'd been going through his clothing cabinet. Not a pleasant thought. Might need to buy a lock for that.

"Oh, your probably smelling the coffee I made. I felt tired so I made some." He sipped his coffee and sighed happily. "I really needed this after my shower. Sleep was awful."

"You made enough for me, right Pet?" She looked over at his cup, watching the steam dance above it.

He glanced over to his pot in his kitchen. "Sure did, I'll go pour you some. Hold on a sec."

Nathan walked over back to his kitchen to pour the hellhound some. Fenra followed him over, tail wagging. He poured out a reasonable amount into the cup, adding in the creamer he used in his. He handed the mug to her. She easily held it in her large pawed hands. Let's hope with her strength she doesn't crack it.

"Let me know if you like it or not. Not everyone likes my coffee, since the creamer makes it a little sweet." He waited for Fenra to have her first sip.

She slowly sipped the drink, holding the mug in her hands. She bounced a little, tail wagging in glee. Cute.

"It's delicious."

Nathan smiled. "Good, glad at least someone else likes my coffee. I'll make it more often then." Eat my shit, Smith. He thought to himself smugly.

She continued to sip her drink and they both went and sat down on his couch. The news on the TV had ended and now an early morning talk show was playing, he wasn't really pay attention to it though. They were talking about dumb shit, like whose monster was best girl and how the others were trash.

"So…" Nathan started, trying to think of something to talk about.

"Yes, handsome?" The hellspawn looked over his direction. That little remark threw him off a little.

"Uh, why don't we talk about ourselves? Might as well, since we'll be living together from now on." You moron, Nathan. She's obviously not-

"Sounds like fun, Pet. You go first. I bet you're quite the interesting guy…"

Well shit.

Fenra didn't seem to be the type to shy away from conversation. Might make things a little easier. Or worse.

"Uh okay, well…" Nathan scratched his head, thinking of a response worthy of listening to. "I'm going to school… I work a job…" Lame, Nathan. Really fucking lame.

She turned to face him, seemingly interested. Not sure how she could be. "Ooo, a busy guy. Sounds like you have quite the schedule. What do you go to school for?"

He shrugged. "Just generals. Not sure what to go for, yet."

"What about your work?" The hound asked.

"Just the convenience store down the street not so far from here. Pays alright for what it is. Helps keep me busy." Nathan enjoyed the work, to be honest. He is one of those people who gets satisfaction from being organized and finishing a job perfectly.

"So, am I going to be alone most parts of the day then?"

Nathan shook his head. "I don't work every day. Also made the switch to have some generals online. I'll be around enough for if you need anything."

"Oh good, Pet. It'd be lonely here, all by myself... So, what do you do when your not Mr. Busy Man?"

Nathan could've just said something boring like how he plays too much Destiny, but he decided to let out a few facets of himself. Not the Destiny part, though.

"I like to draw sometimes. I mean, I'm not that great at it but-"

Fenra seemed intrigued. "An artist too, eh? You just keep making yourself more and more enticing. What do you draw?"

Fuuuuuck.

"Mostly people, not that good at much else." Nathan was trying to save his dignity. "It's hard to get everything right, though. I… need to look at some type of reference while I do it, though." Jeez Nathan, how lame can you get?

"You need a model, is that right Pet?" Fenra said with a flirt. "Well, that could be easily arranged…"

Nathan felt his face get hot, and he stumbled over himself in the next sentence. Poor guy. "N-Nah, I'm good. It's only a hobby. I'm not nearly experienced enough to make it a full time thing. Anyways, I've said my fill. What about you?"

"You'd like to know about me?"

"Well, yeah. That's not weird is it?"

Fenra shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. Nobody's really asked me before. Kind of hard to."

He suddenly felt a little sympathy for the emissary of hell. "Why is that?"

Fenra just motioned to herself, and Nathan felt dumb for a second. Oh yeah, monster. Duh. "Sorry, I almost forgot about that for a second. You must not get along with most people, then."

"When they don't run away in terror the moment they first lay eyes on me. If you get to know me, I'm not as big and bad as they make me out to be. I don't blame them, I'd run away myself if I saw the same thing."

"Crowley and that Smith chick said you had some issues, getting along with other homes in the past. What happened exactly?" Nathan was curious.

"Just not good places to be, maybe I'll tell you over another drink sometime. Sometimes you just don't get along with people, and you don't know why you can't. Maybe you're just too different to have anything in common."

"Maybe we could find something in common, then?" Yeah, that sound stupid, but Nathan didn't have much to work with here. They had to break the ice somehow.

She gave him a wink, and a toothy grin. "Maybe, depends on if you make a good impression…"

"You mean I haven't already?" Nathan grinned back.

"We'll see." Fenra paused for a second. "You got a good start so far. That's enough about me for now. I want to hear more about you."

"Okay…" Nathan replied. That's not really much to work with. Guess Fenra still needs some time to open up a little further. "What do you wanna know?"

"Why exactly are you doing this? The program I mean. It seems like you have your hands full as it is. Why put up with someone like me?"

Nathan actually wondered this himself. Why was he doing this? It's not like he didn't have anything going on in his life.

Then he remembered the dream, and the feeling of guilt. Maybe that was why.

"I guess I just wanted to help, somehow. Call it a gut feeling. Not sure how else to describe it. I just felt like I had to, you know?"

"Oh." Fenra replied in response. "Sounds like there's a story to go along with that. Feel like sharing, Pet?"

"Maybe another time. My turn now. I'm curious. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are Hellhounds?"

"You mean besides being good looking?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

Nathan rolled his eyes. The flirts weren't going to go away. Guess he'll have to roll with it. "Never mind. I guess I'll Google it later or something. Bad question."

Fenra laughed. "Just teasing, Pet. There really isn't much to us to be honest. Just another particular breed in the dog family of liminals. I'd still say we're the best looking though. Apparently people think we serve the god of the underworld, but that's an old story. Nowadays we just do whatever and whoever we want. I prefer it that way. I don't like taking orders."

"Oh." Nathan replied in return.

Fenra seemed like she was having a fun time talking to him, and even Nathan had to admit her found her boldness quite charming. "Don't worry. I'm not going to go out of my way to rebel or anything. I'll just being doing my own thing."

The conversation was going well, but maybe he could be doing a little better. How about a little errand, the two of them? That might work. Get to see how the other acts in public.

"Fenra, I was thinking of going to the mall today to look at some things. Would you want to come with, so I could get you some... better clothes?"

His furry friend sat her drink down on the coffee table, empty. "You asking me out on a date, handsome?"

He waved his hands and shook his head. If he was asking for a date, the mall wouldn't have been his first choice. "No, I'm just asking if you'd want to come look at clothes. It'd just be less awkward for me if you were wearing something instead of well, basically nothing."

Fenra had a sly grin on her face, fangs showing. "Whatever you say, date or not. I don't mind the staring, Pet. I rather enjoy it, actually..."

Nathan rolled his eyes again. "You might enjoy it, but other people that live around us don't want to see it. If you're going to be living here from now on, I don't want other people giving me complaints about a naked dog walking around. It's not an order, just a request."

"Fine. Have it your way, little man. I'd figure a young man like you though would love having the view." She stretched out her arms in the air, pushing her waist and breasts forward. It's true, he did enjoy the view. Any man in their right mind would appreciate it. Nathan just didn't have the energy or control to handle that right now. Another time, perhaps.

"Oh I do enjoy it, don't get me wrong." He found himself saying out loud. Shit. Did she hear that? She heard that. She definitely heard that. His face blushed and he stammered with an awkward smile.

She cocked her head over to him and gave him a wink. "What was that, Pet?"

His face was getting hot. "Don't have a clue what you're talking about. Uhh, we should head out soon. Don't want to stay cooped up here for... reasons."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

They left the house together not long after they finished their coffee. Before leaving Nathan had more or less forced (pleaded) Fenra to at least borrow one of his hoodies to wear. Now at he wouldn't get complaints and people staring at them. He could have driven over to the mall, but he figured it was a nice day so Nathan decided against it. That, and he didn't want to ruin his car. He didn't want to test how could Fenra's good claws were. He wasn't alone in his decision to walk, some other people were walking with their monsters too.

Fenra noticed a few of the humans were holding hands with their respective monsters, and an apparent jealous look appeared on her face when she caught him observing them.

"See something you like, Pet?"

"Oh sorry, just curious. I'm still sort of new to this whole monster-human thing. It takes some getting used to."

She slid her hand into his slowly, a tight grip forming around the two. Nathan was surprised at first, but quickly adapted. Her fur was so soft, and her pads were warm. It felt good.

"No need to be curious now, Pet. Not when you got me to worry about. Remember that."

"Oh of course, haha." He said with a nervous hand rubbing the back of his head. "Silly me."

"I'll forgive you. This time."

So not only was she flirty, she was possessive as well. Great.

While on the walk Fenra made it clear to others he was her property. If anyone got too close she'd growl and bare her fangs. He would have to apologize for her actions and try to calm her down. She reluctantly would do so, only at the behest of him. He had found out later when researching Hellhounds on Google they were extremely territorial, and would pick fights with even monsters greater than themselves if they came between their chosen husband.

He actually thought about her for a moment. When was the last time he dated, or been on a date? He couldn't remember. Years, maybe. Wait, what was he thinking? This wasn't a date. Was it? But there was a reason why he hadn't be on date for so long. The incident.

The walk wasn't that much longer, so he quickly put that thought out of his mind. They arrived at the mall and stopped after going through the entrance door to decide what they wanted to do. Humans and monsters were all mingling together inside, some stores completely run by monster employees. The energy inside was positive and inviting, something Nathan really enjoyed. The liminal ran stores would be selling stuff for almost every size, or shape you could imagine.

That didn't say anything about the food though.

Liminal food was some of the best he'd ever had in ages. Justice once took him to get some Chinese food that was made exclusively by liminal chefs. He took home leftovers, for sure.

"Well," Nathan started. "If you want to we can go look at clothes first. I need to look at some new pants for myself anyway."

"Sounds like fun, Pet." She agreed with him and they decided to go find a store to start shopping in.

Nathan felt the need to ask this as they walked along, Fenra still having an iron grip on his hand. "So, is this Pet nickname going to be a regular thing?"

"Would you prefer something more endearing? I rather like Pet. It's sounds kind of cute to me."

Nathan groaned. "Sounds more emasculating to me."

"I agree." She said with another toothy grin. "That's why I like it."

Well, that's good to know.

Fenra didn't really seem to be very picky when it came to picking out clothes, probably because she usually never wore much to begin with. Duh. He brought her to one of the more female oriented stores that specialized in liminals to begin their search.

Fenra naturally preferred whatever showed as much skin as possible, so he wasn't surprised with some of the choices she made. She picked out most of the following herself, but when in doubt she asked Nathan what he'd think would look good on her. Bad idea. Never ask a man what you want her to wear.

She loved whatever tops that showed off her back and tummy, so she picked out a few particular tops, one of them being a plain black tube top that was strapless and another being a shoulder-less grey t shirt. He had suggested to her a white wide necked sweater, which she also really liked as well. Sweaters like those were a guilty pleasure of Nathan.

When it came to look for bottoms, Fenra loved shorts. Or to be more specific, how much skin she was allowed to have before Nathan would draw the line. She saw a pair of impossibly small jean shorts that barely covered up her well-rounded posterior. She picked that one, as well as a few others too.

It had now come to the last and most challenging trial yet.

Underwear shopping. God help him.

Nathan was of course, no help here. Every time she asked him what he likes, he'd simply reply that they all looked good on her. Fenra laughed at Nathan's awkward actions, trying to get him to squirm as much as possible. Nathan's face was incredibly red, his palms getting all sweaty. Fenra enjoyed taunting and teasing him.

She wanted to try on all the clothes, so Nathan took Fenra to the changing room over in the back.

He waved a hand over to the one of the stalls next to him. "Well, go ahead and try some on! I can't to see how it looks."

"Aren't you coming with me to watch? I don't mind letting my Pet see me naked." Fenra's face flashed a seductive grin.

Nathan's heart might have stopped for a second when he heard that.

"Uh, I'll pass... Maybe next time?" He looked incredibly uncomfortable. So would I.

"Suit yourself." She took the clothes in hand and walked in the changing room. Some time passed while he waited for her to change into the first outfit.

He wasn't sure how much more teasing his poor old heart cold take. Fenra's goal in life apparently was to try and either flirt with or emasculate him, sometimes the two going hand in hand. It was so awkward and uncomfortable. But he wasn't lying to himself, it was kind of sexy. A weird kind of sexy.

More time passed and Nathan was worried. He thought of knocking on the stall door to see if Fenra was okay when she finally came out, almost looking like she had ran a marathon. It really must have been a struggle to put them on.

She chose to wore the strapless back tube top and those impossibly tight jean shorts. It was a perfect fit though, and the fashion seemed to really suit her outgoing personality. Nathan tried his hardest to not to look at her too closely, in fear of a nosebleed or even more.

"How does this look, Pet? Do you like?" She gestured to the getup she had chosen for him.

"Oh ye-" He caught himself. "Umm, yeah. It looks good, uh good... Try on the others."

She grinned and walked back to keep changing, her wide hips swaying. "Good to know."

She eventually tried them all on and decided that she'd was ready to go, and had teased Nathan enough for the day. Thank god. He brought over all the clothing to the cashier and the cashier started to scan it. Fenra gave him a look of confusion for a second.

"Pet, how are we paying for this all?"

"Oh I got it all covered, don't you worry." He said with smile. "I've been saving money on the side from my job just in cause I would have to do something like this. I've been preparing for this for awhile, you know."

Nathan on the inside was screaming internally. It was true he'd been saving money, but as the total went up for the clothes, he felt like banging his head against the wall. But he bit his tongue though. She couldn't have had much money on her own, so he felt it was the right thing to do. Was definitely gonna hurt his wallet though. Poor wallet.

He saw her smooth onyx skin on her face blush very lightly. She didn't seem to know what to say. It quite the adorable sight to see Fenra flustered. She seemed like she was about to finally say something but he stopped her.

Nathan smiled. "Don't worry about it. Let's grab some food. I bet you're hungry."

Fenra liked the sound of that. So did he.

The found a restaurant that served mostly meat, since Hellhounds are carnivorous by nature. Nathan loved their meat as well. It was easily bigger portions than any human should be accustomed to. He seated her in one of the chairs and started ordering for them both.

"Nathan." He heard the hound say to him. So she did remember his name after all. Surprises do happen.

"What's up?" He said concerned. She never used his name before. Kind of funny, if you thought about it.

"Let's cut to the chase, Pet. What do you want from me in return for all this? I know you want something, so let's hear it..."

He thought about it for a minute, then shrugged. "Umm, I really don't need anything at the moment...but if I think of something, I'll let you know. I'll keep it in mind."

"So what, you did all this for nothing?" Fenra seemed to be puzzled. "Then what's your plan? Trying to butter me up? Get on my good side?"

Nathan finished a bite of his food and shook his head. "I'm not trying to butter up anyone. I just want to make sure your stay with me is comfortable." He went and finished another bite. "Nothing more to it than that."

"I don't understand, how can you be so nice? You just barely met me…"

"That's because," Nathan said to her. "I want to get to know you. Sure, we've only just met and have a lot of ground to cover. That doesn't mean it's not worth trying. Might as well start early."

Fenra looked into Nathan's dull blue eyes with her fiery red ones. "You... You're not afraid of me, are you?"

He nodded. "Not at all."

"What about when you first saw me?"

Nathan shook his head and smiled again. "Sure I was a little nervous I guess, but that's natural. Meeting someone new for the first time. But I knew when I got into this I needed to step up and be better than what was expected. I didn't want to make a bad impression."

Fenra looked down for a second. "The other families that I tried to stay with, were scared of me. They thought I would hurt them if they got too close. So they got rid of me. Hellhounds are seen as a bad omen to most still. People still hate us."

"Well, I don't hate you, if that's what you're worried about. Whatever those people saw, I don't see."

She grabbed his left hand and held it in her large paws, softly brushing her hands against his. It made Nathan blush, surprised at Fenra's boldness. "If you don't see a monster, then what do you see?""

He looked in her eyes again, this time being the one to gaze through her. "Well, I see a girl. A girl who's had a hard time. I see a girl who just wants a place to feel safe. That's what I see."

"...Is that all you see, Pet?" Fenra leaned into the table, her well-shaped cleavage drawing his eyes in more. "Maybe you should look a little deeper…"

He decided to return the flirt, it harmless enough. "That doesn't sound so bad."

The conversation was interrupted by Fenra's meal finally being delivered to her. She had ordered a large, juicy steak that had chunks of fat clinging to it. He was kind of jealous of her appetite. But better the steak than him becoming her latest meal.

They continued to eat their meal, each of them feeling more comfortable and open than they were before. Nathan noticed though she hadn't touched much of her food. Fenra's face seemed to be flush again and she looked embarrassed.

"Is something wrong, Fenra?"

She kind of fidgeted a little with frustration and embarrassment as she spoke. "I'm not good at using silverware..."

"I could cut it up for you if you'd want..." He offered the flustered Hellhound.

She blushed again. "That's not funny."

"I wasn't trying to be."

"...Oh." Fenra blushed again. Cute.

She handed her large plate off to him and he started to slowly and carefully cut the large steak into manageable bite-sized pieces. Nathan noticed Fenra watching his every motion and cut, almost like she was studying for herself to learn and practice at a later time. He then thought up a really terrible idea. He stuck the fork into a good sized piece and waved it in the air. "Wanna bite?"

Her tail started to wag back and here burning eyes were fixated on the piece. "Yes…"

"Say ahhh…" He slowly made the fork over to her, teasing her with the smell. She bite her lip in embarrassment, then finally opened up. Nathan knew he was teasing the poor dog, but he figured if she was going to tease him, he was going to tease her back.

She devoured the bite whole, smiling as she did so. Her tail happily shook about and her fluffy ears twitched. Fenra may have a hellish appearance, but it couldn't have been more cute seeing her with a big dumb smile on her face.

He did this with a few more bites, having a fun time taunting her with the meat. He'd let the fork with the meat drift dangerously close to her mouth, and when Fenra would lean in to bite it he'd pull back. She would look at him with an almost pleading face.

"That's not fair…" She said with a pouty face.

Nathan chuckled a little at the cuteness that was Fenra. "Don't dish what you can take."

He continued to tease until she grabbed his hand holding the fork with her paws and held it in place. She slowly took the bite in, and devoured the meat in front of him. Fenra licked her lips and gave him a view of her pearly fangs.

"Careful what you wish for, little man. Wouldn't want me to eat you up as well. I like to play with my food…"

Nathan felt his face get hot again. Nathan laughed in an embarrassed way, a dumb grin plastered on his face. He forgot who exactly he was dealing with for a second.

"Sorry, got a little carried away..."

She continued to caress his hand, and a smile of her own appeared. "That's quite alright, Pet. I don't mind getting a little...distracted."

They finished the food and decided it was time to go home. Nathan paid for the meal and grabbed all the bags to carry them home. Fenra offered to carry some of them, but he insisted that he would take them all. He figured if he was gonna pay for teasing her, this is how he would need to start.

Nathan may have had a rude awakening this morning, but the the rest of the day was one of the most fun and happy ones he'd had in a long time. It felt good to get out of the house, to not be alone. Maybe this whole program thing wasn't a bad idea after all.

Fenra walked closely beside Nathan, her fluffy tail was wrapped around his waist partway. It was a sign of affection as well as a mark of territory. They had just left the mall and were now walking in the parking lot. Nathan looked to his left and saw two men, probably the same age as him if not a bit older. They kept pointing and laughing in his direction, but couldn't hear what they were saying. Whatever, Nathan thought. He didn't have the patience or really a reason to care what they thought.

He kept on walking until Fenra stopped him. She must've heard what those mean we're talking about. How could she not, her sensitive ears could hear way better than his ever could. "Those men were making fun of you."

He looked over at them. "What did they say?"

She looked aggravated. "Awful things. Things that I'll spare you from hearing."

Nathan sighed, and shrugged. "Oh well, that's too bad. Let's go home now, it's getting late." He turned around and was continuing to walk. Fenra didn't budge an inch.

"You're just going to let them say those things about you?" She seemed almost frustrated he wasn't mad. But how could he be mad at them? Whatever they're saying about him was probably true, and he knew that. What could was it to try and tell them otherwise?

"What am I supposed to do? Go over and demand an apology? They don't know any better. It's not worth getting mad over. I don't need trouble in my life right now."

She didn't keep walking with him and kept staring at them, a hateful scowl plastered on her once pretty face. "Nobody makes fun of my dear Pet and gets away with it. They'll pay for it."

She turned and started walking quickly in their direction. Nathan set the bags down and ran after her. "No, that's a bad idea! You know you can't hurt them! Wait!"

They had noticed her approach and the smart one started to get nervous. His friend looked like he wanted to run, but his friend must of said something to control him. She started to cuss and yell things at them, most of which wasn't very pleasant to the ears. I'll be a good narrator and spare you those details.

He tried to hold her back, but she was determined to give the two her own personal taste of hell. The men kept on berating the two of them, adding fuel to the fire. A choice insult to use was calling him a "fucking lapdog" and to get "control of that crazy bitch."

"Fenra, just let it go! They aren't worth it!" Nathan pleaded trying to hold her back. Why did she care so much if they made fun of him?

"But you are!" She tried to shake him off. "Let me go!"

"You know I can't!" He kept trying to pull her back. "Just-"

"What a spineless freak. Can't even get control of his stupid fucking do-" One of them managed to sling one more fast one at them before shit hit the goddamn fan.

Fenra couldn't take it anymore, and lost control. She turned and slashed of her clawed hands across Nathan's face to get him off, sending him to the ground. He covered his cheek, blood oozing out the sides of his hands. The hellspawn then picked up one of them by the collar with her large hands and pinned him to the nearest wall. She was about to give him what he didn't deserve when she heard the other guy from behind.

The other man yelled, and shouted in terror. "Y-you hurt him! You monster! We'll never accept freaks like you!"

She let the man who was pinned against the wall go, the two of them deciding to finally make a good getaway. Smart move. Fenra stared at her clawed hand, blood stained on the tip of them. She looked at Nathan with a look of horror and fear in her red eyes.

"I-I didn't mean-" She said. "If you had just-"

"I told you someone would get hurt." He said, trying to get up but stumbled a little. "But you didn't listen."

She quickly made her way back over to him helped him up, and looked into his dull eyes. The wound was a vicious claw mark that took up most of his left cheek. It was deep, and would need tending to at his place. Fenra held his face with her paws and looked at him, guilt plastered all over her face.

"I hit you..." Fenra eyes looked like they were about to collapse into watery fountains.

"You didn't mean to. It's oka-"

She backed away, her paws covering her eyes. "No it isn't!" Tears started to leak down her face. "I hurt you... The only one would take me in when nobody else wanted me..." She started crying violently.

"Come on Fenra, please don't cry... I'm okay, see? Nothing's wrong..." Nathan tried to talk to her, but Fenra was inconsolable. She kept on talking while she cried, her voice quivering and cracking every time. It hurt Nathan to the core to see her like this. He had to do something, say something to her to make it stop before he started to fall apart.

But what could he say? If he had just let her have her way, she'd would've likely done worse to the man and his friend. So it was on him then. It was his fault. He was responsible for her tears. And man, did it fucking suck. But if that's what he had to do to get her out of trouble, maybe that's what he had to do.

"I don't want to be alone again... It hurts, it hurts so much... Please don't make me go away..."

Nathan wrapped his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace. She cried even harder. I'm a real asshole, Nathan said to himself.

"Fenra, look at me."

Fenra wouldn't look at him. She couldn't. It took some real time before Nathan finally moved her soggy paws away from her eyes, tears still drowning her cheeks. He held her face in his hands, softly stroking her wet cheeks.

"It's okay. I won't say anything."

"But-" Her lip was trembling. He kept on stroking her cheek.

"It doesn't matter." He brought her into a hug and started to stroke her hair softly. "You're not going anywhere. You're staying with me."

She sobbed into his shoulder for awhile, Nathan kept holding her and petting her. She eventually stopped. She looked back up into his blue eyes. She seemed to be comforted by staring into them.

"Do you promise?"

He nodded and smiled. "I promise."

She hugged him tightly, her tail wagging.

They finally picked up their baggage and started on their way back. Fenra wouldn't let go of his arm the entire way home. It was fine, though. She had him. Someone she could trust, and depend on, even if Nathan couldn't do the same.

After he helped put away her new clothes in her room, they were in his bathroom trying to treat and clean his injury. Fenra was holding a wet towel cloth to it, washing the blood off that had dried and crusted onto his face.

Her fiery eyes were still filled with concern. "Does it hurt?"

"It stings. But that's okay." He petted her while she kept wiping away the blood. Her tail wagged in response.

"I'm really, really sorry still... I should have just listened to you. I'll never forgive myself for what I did." The hound set the towel in the sink.

"I don't blame you for what you did, though. If I was as bold and confident as you, I would done that and then some. But I'm not. I'm spineless."

"Don't listen to them. Your a great man, Nathan. One of the sweetest I've ever met." She softly rubbed her and his hands together, trying to sooth him in some way. It felt nice, and her hands were so warm. But he knew he didn't deserve it. He hadn't earned such warmness from such a sweet person like her. Nathan tried to pick up the bandage he had set out for himself, but Fenra wouldn't have it.

"I'll take care of it. Don't you worry…"

She softly put on the large bandage over the claw mark. It would likely become a scar, but it would fade as time passed. She leaned into his cheek, and softly kissed it. Even with the bandage, he still felt the warmness from her lips.

"It'll take awhile before I can remove the bandage. It may scar though…"

"Good." Nathan replied. "It'll remind me to not make the same mistake again."

"You did nothing wrong, Pet. Don't beat yourself up over it. All you wanted was to make sure I didn't do something I'd regret." She snuggled into him. "If you hadn't tried to stop me, I wouldn't be here. You did what you had to do."

You did what you had to do. What kind of cop out was that? He could've done so many things differently. He could've taken her place, and roughed them up himself. What a waste of fucking space, Nathan thought. He was a spineless bitch who could've prevented all of this if he'd just been better. Just another reason why Nathan hated who he was, who he had been forced to change into.

It's no wonder the accident was his fault in his eyes. He felt useless. Why did he even bother sometimes…

Nathan went to his bedroom and sat on the edge of his bed, Fenra refusing to leave his side. She nuzzled into his arm. "Why do people hate us?"

Nathan sighed and petted her again. "I wish I had an answer for you. Sometimes people are just the way they are."

Her body was warm to the touch. Just maybe... Nathan thought. No. He took that thought and threw it away. I'm not putting myself through this again. I don't need to get others involved.

"We can't force people to act a certain way. People need to do it on their own." Nathan rubbed and scratched her back. "The only thing you can change is yourself. Best advice I could give."

Nathan looked at his clock. It was getting really late now. He needed to sleep. To forget today ever happened.

"Will you do something for me, Pet? It's okay if you don't want to." She looked at him and blushed. Maybe Nathan didn't trust himself. But Fenra did.

"What do you want me to do?"

He heard words that burned as they entered his mind. "I know we just met, but I feel… safe next to you. Will… you hold me?"

He couldn't keep up trying to resist anymore. He was tired, and just wanted it to end.

So he gave in.

"Sure thing."

 **(LEMON SORTA INBOUND)**

He laid down on the bed, resting his head on his pillow. He opened his arms, inviting her in. Instead on nuzzling into her like he thought she wanted, Fenra got on top of his lap and started to rock her hips.

"Fenra, what-"

She placed a finger over his lips, silencing the distraught Nathan. "I may not be very good with words… Maybe I can express how I feel in a different way..." She laid her chest down onto his, her breasts mushing into his chest. She grabbed his arms and pinned them to the bed. He could feel both of their heartbeats going like crazy, his face was starting to get hot.

"But we can't-"

She shushed him again. "There's nobody else here. Just you, and me… I won't tell…"

A moan escaped his mouth when kept on grinding her hips against his lap. Fenra seemed elated to hear it, her rocking increasing in intensity. "It feels good, doesn't it? The way I grind my body against yours. You like it, don't you?"

Nathan tried to say something, but his mind was going blank. All he could think about was her. All the awful things he felt about himself were absorbed by the hound. It was like her very touch was consuming him. More moans escaped from his mouth. He couldn't control himself, his more animal natures now being unable to be pushed back.

She whispered into his ear softly. "Don't fight it. Let your urges out. I want to see the real you. I want to feel what's buried inside you. Let me in. Let yourself go..." Her words were comforting and encouraging.

Nathan fought desperately against his inner nature. He was growing weaker, unable to stop moaning and groaning in pleasure. He'd never felt such a wave of desire hit his body before.

She let go of his hands to pull off his shirt. As she slowly pulled it up his chest, she licked his abs and chest. "Such a strong body you have. I want to taste more of it." She started to lick at his right shoulder, the area now being doused in pleasure.

She kept thrusting her hips into his crotch, her rocking now evolved into erratic humping. He dug his nails into her back, a long moan escaping Fenra's mouth.

"Yes, that's right... Touch me more... I want more of your touch..." She started to gnaw and bite into his shoulder hard. He could feel the teeth puncture into his body. He started to bleed out of the wound, but it didn't hurt. Instead he felt the most wonderful feeling he had felt in a long time. Pleasure in it's purest form.

He moaned and dug his nails into her back harder, her bites becoming deeper and deeper. It was too much. He couldn't think straight anymore. All that he wanted in that moment was her. He wanted to touch her, make her his. She wanted it too. She wanted to make him feel good.

He moved his hands away from her back and started cupping her breasts in his hands. She stopped biting his neck and arched her back in a long moan. "Harder, squeeze them hard... I like it rough. Play with my body..."

He obeyed the moaning Hellhound, and started to violently squeeze her breasts. He squeezed the hard and and massaged every part of them. They were soft and warm, and with every caress Fenra would moan loudly. She held his arms in place, making sure he wouldn't let go. "Oh god yes... Your touch, I want to feel it all over my body... I want it so bad..."

He made a bold move and squeezed her nipples as hard as he could. He tugged and pulled on them, as if he was milking a cow. Fenra screamed loudly in ecstasy. "My nipples are sensitive, keep on tugging... It feels so good, I just might-"

She moaned again. "Cum... I want to cum. Please Pet, please let me cum... I can't take it anymore! I need more!"

He gave her another good hard tug, and that did it. She started to shake wildly, her entire body was shaking and trembling from the feeling of her cumming. He pulled on her tail with one hand as hard as he could. "I'm cumming! Oh god, yes!"

She finally stopped shaking and laid down on him, panting wildly. Their combined body heat almost felt like he was on fire. She slowly moved her face over to his, panting like the dog she was. "Kiss me, Pet. I want your tongue in my throat..."

He lunged his mouth toward hers, his tongue meeting hers inside his mouth. It was a violent and hungry kiss, each side trying to fight for the control of the other. Never side would back down, they were too hungry for each other. She sloppily kissed him, saliva leaking out of both of their mouths and down their chins.

She moaned into his mouth, the nice echoing and lewd kissing noises filled his ear canals. He squeezed her big round ass hard, spanking it every so often, leaving a hand mark. Her fluffy tail violently shook and flailed with each passing moment.

She broke the kiss finally and stopped. Both their hearts felt like they could explode any minute. She needed the rest of him. She placed a paw on his crotch and squeezed hard. "I want this thing inside of me, and I want it now..."

He had finally broken.

He grabbed her with both hands and pinned her to the bed, taking his place. He wrapped both his hands around her neck, and started to squeeze hard. Fenra's eyes were rolling in the back of her head as he continued to choke her. He kissed her again as this went on, trying to to cut off her supply to oxygen. She was moaning and trembling. He broke his kiss to look into the eyes of his hound. She was drooling, her tongue hanging out of her mouth lewdly.

"Take me..."

Nathan wanted to so bad. He wanted to bend that sexy dog over and fuck her as hard as he could. He squeezed her neck harder. When he looked up at her again he saw her smiling with tears in her eyes.

"I love you..."

I love you.

The words washed over him like ice. He had heard those words before. A long time ago, someone else had said the same to him.

Her.

The memory flooded into his mind after a long absence. He remembered her smile, her laugh, and even the warmness from her hands. He even remembered her sweet, loving voice.

It hurt.

He slowly released his grip on her neck, his hands were shaking. A cold sweat ran down his forehead. Fenra looked at him worried, her fluffy ears pointed down in concern.

"Nathan? Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

He got up off of her, his hands still shaking. Her name still haunting his mind. "I-I think we need to stop..."

She tried to touch him but he backed away, her worried expression increasing. "Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?"

He stood away from the bed, violently shaking his head back and forth. "No, it's not your fault... I-I just need a minute..."

She looked hurt. Not for herself, but for him. "What's wrong, darling? I want to help you…"

He shook his head again and backed away some more. "I think I need just need to be alone for a second. I'll just be in my office for a minute...You can sleep in my bed tonight."

"What about you?" She asked him.

"It doesn't matter." He walked out of the room and into his hallway. He didn't want to leave Fenra alone in his room, in the dark as to what just happened, but his mind was filled with the thoughts of her.

It had been so long. He couldn't even remember what she looked like exactly. He walked into his office, and hurried over to his desk. Did he still have that photo of her? He needed to see her face again. He needed to.

He pulled open the desk door to his left and pulled out the picture frame he kept face down. Nathan slowly rotated the photo. It was a photo of them on of their first dates. He was smiling his dumb smile and she... She was smiling too. It was the first thing he noticed when he first met her. Her warm, comforting smile. He could never forget that welcoming face, and her beautiful black hair and crystal blue eyes.

He hadn't forgotten at all. Nathan had simply tried to to push it down deep inside, where he couldn't feel it. The pain after what he had done to her was far too much to let it go.

Nathan started to tear up looking at the picture. He missed her. He missed her so much.

He held the picture close to him and started to cry.

The pain from the accident filled his mind and soul all over again.

"I didn't mean to…" Nathan said as he rocked back and forth. "It was an accident…"

What Nathan didn't see was a concerned Fenra behind the corner to his office, watching him sob. She said nothing, but quietly observed.

When Nathan could cry no more, he finally set the picture back the way he found it. He walked back into his living room, and tried to get comfortable on his chair. It took some time, but he finally was lulled to sleep.

If Nathan had stayed awake a bit longer, he would gotten to see Fenra come out of the shadows, snuggle up to him, and spend the night in his arms. She gave him a kiss on his wounded cheek, and nuzzled back into him. She may not have understood what was going on with Nathan but right now, that's not what she needed to worry about.

He just needed someone. And just maybe, that someone could be her.

But how long could it last?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **A/N: Thanks for the wait. It may not seem like a long wait to you guys, but I've been revising and editing this stupid chapter for what feels like a week now.**

 **Sorry for that lemon, but I felt like it was important. The next chapter, will be sometime next week. Thanks again, for all the really nice reviews. Your kindness won't go to waste, I promise.**

 **So just remember to keep your friends close, and your monsters closer.**

 **I'll see you all again, real soon.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Dragon

**A/N: Hey guys, welcome back! Hope you've all been doing well. So, a few things before we continue with whatever Nathan is doing:**

 **1: Got some questions about including certain monsters into the harem/or in the story somehow. While I do have the main harem basically decided now, a few side characters still need to be filled in. I'll probably use some of your requests if they fit as we go along.**

 **2\. Thanks for the crazy follows and favorites, most I've ever had in such a short amount of time. So you know, thanks for that.**

 **As a small way of saying thank you to you all, I left a link to some sketches of some other characters that are going to be in the story soon down below among other doodles of mine. I can't really draw that well, but I feel like I owe you guys for waiting this long.**

 **Well, that's everything I wanted to go over at the moment. Let's see what Nathan is up to.**

 **Hit the lights.**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The next week came and went.

While it had been kind of awkward between the two of them after that one night's little "incident" at first, things quickly got back to normal. Whatever that was. He'd apologized to Fenra about the whole thing, and she didn't take it too personally. She didn't push him for any specific reason, and they didn't discuss it further. Part of Nathan thought she might of been worried about what was going on with his whole thing, but Fenra was silent. Either she didn't have a clue, or didn't know what to do. Both of those responses Nathan could deal with.

That night hadn't changed how close she wanted to be next to Nathan. In fact, it seemed to increase her clinginess to a different level than before. She loved to be cuddled and petted, although she'd never admit to the extent of how good it felt herself. Probably trying to maintain some semblance of her pride. Her boldness would shine through here, as she would always say what was on her mind and what she wanted. If she wanted Nathan to make them both food, she'd ask for it. If Fenra wanted a pat on the head or a massaging of her fluffy ears, she'd ask for that as well.

She wasn't afraid to get what she wanted, and Nathan really admired that. It's probably why he would always give her what she wanted almost every time. Almost. She'd occasionally for massaging of some more "risque" part of her body. Of course he politely declined. It wasn't long before he'd been covered in her "love bites" all over his body for being a "good boy".

Fenra never slept in her own bed the entirety of her stay so far. She much preferred snuggling up to Nathan as he tried to sleep. He wondered why Fenra didn't like to sleep alone. Maybe she got lonely at night? He didn't ask. It was harmless enough. If Nathan was being honest with himself, he enjoyed whenever the hellspawn nuzzled her cute body close to his.

Things were going pretty well between the two of them, better than he'd ever expected. How had other people she'd stay with in the past had so many issues with her? She was practically harmless. He described Fenra to himself in his mind akin to a Tarantula. Something that looks threatening and dangerous on the outside, but on the inside is nothing but a big softie. She was a breath of fresh air in Nathan's uneventful day to day life. He looked forward to spending time with her everyday after work.

His work schedule hadn't really been affected by the change, although he did arrive at work some days more exhausted than usual. Doug would ask if he'd been getting enough sleep, and he tried to dismiss his concerns. And the questions about his bite marks. His sleeping was about as good as it had always been. Nightmares would come and visit him every so often, and every other night he'd wake up in a fright. Except this time, he wasn't alone. He had Fenra with him. He'd snuggle back up to his hound companion, and he'd fall back to sleep fairly quickly. It felt good, not to be alone anymore. He'd even come up with a nickname for the hellspawn to match her "Pet" nickname for himself. He decided to call her Fuzzy. She liked that.

It was finally the weekend again, and Nathan was relaxing sideways on his couch after a long but packed day at work. It was night time now. They were in their pajamas, Nathan wearing a white t shirt and some black gym shorts. Fenra on the other hand, was wearing nothing but a plain black pair of bra and panties. Nathan had a hard time concealing his obvious hard on.

Fenra, naturally was nuzzled into his chest having a small nap. It was cute, seeing her wrap her large paws wrap around his chest and turn it into a makeshift pillow. Didn't help that her large chest was mushed into his groin. He was just playing some Bloodborne on his PS4, a game he'd been meaning to get back into. He took a moment from playing after returning to the Hunter's Dream to give his hellspawn companion some much desired head pats. Fenra liked those.

He ran his fingers through her wild long black hair, massaging her scalp as he went. He knew he was doing a good job since her heard a soft, cute sigh escape her mouth. Good start. It was time for her long, fluffy ears. He softly held them in his hands, and started to stroke and massage every inch of them. She really liked that. He noticed one of her legs twitching a little. So adorable. She was practically a lapdog. Nathan increased his intensity of his massaging, and the twitching in her leg continued to shake and move wildly. Her tail was whipping around erratically as well, a clear signs whatever he was doing was working wonders for the hound.

Another cute sigh left Fenra's mouth. She moved her face from his chest and gave him a soft, warm kiss on his bandaged cheek. It was healing okay, but it would be awhile before it would close up. She looked into his eyes lovingly and gave him a playful nip on his neck.

"That feels good, Pet. Would you mind scratching my back?"

He gave her a grin and a nod. "Sure thing, Fuzzy. Just lay down again…"

She smiled and nuzzled back into his chest. Nathan moved her hands over to her well sculpted backside, and proceeded to slowly scratch along her features. He softly brushed his nails into her skin and across it, receiving a quiet moan from Fenra.

"Mmmmm...That's nice. Go a little bit lower…" He felt her sharp claws start to prick into his back.

He did as he was commanded. Nathan moved his magic fingers along her back, slowly dragging his nails down her spine. He got another moan from the hound.

"Mmm… Lower…" He felt the claws dig into his back a little. It stung.

Nathan hesitated for a minute. He knew where this was going. But he continued to scratch his nails along her spine. He slowly started to trail down further, his hands practically at the brink of no return. He heard her a more audible moan escape her lips.

She bit into his shirt, and dug her claws deeper into his back. "Just a bit more…"

He was saved by his phone when it vibrated for a second. Thank god.

"Hold on a sec." Nathan said, and pulled his phone out of his pocket, using it as an escape. Fenra groaned in disappointment. Butt massage would have to wait it seemed. He turned his phone onto the lock screen and checked its notifications. He had a Skype notification. It read:

 _You have received a request from the user, Spyman86 to have a video call._

Of course that was his username. Nathan groaned as well. It must be Crowley wanting to check in on them. Guess that butt massage would really have to wait now.

"Gotta go do something in my office really quick, Fuzzy. I'll finish later." He made an effort to get off the couch but the hound held him in place. Shit.

"Can't it wait, Pet? I was just getting into the mood…"

He sighed. "I wish I could, but this is actually important. It's Crowley."

She finally seemed to get it and sat up, with a pouty face painted on. "Okay then, I'll release you. For a minute."

He got up and stood out of the couch, placing his controller in his dish on the table. "It'll just take a second, don't worry."

She quickly took his spot, taking up all the space on the couch. "Just when I thought I had you, too…"

He gave her a grin. "Lucky me, then."

He made his way back to his office and sat down in his desk chair. He glanced over at the cabinet that held the photo of her for a second, but quickly moved his gaze to his laptop. He opened it up and booted it out of rest mode. The Windows logo and greeting welcomed him as he logged into his account. It took a second for the home menu to show up on the screen.

He brought his courser over to his Skype icon and and clicked it with his touchpad. The program opened and landed on the recent messages tab. He clicked on Crowley's message and agreed to the video call. He made sure his mic and webcam were on.

The call rang for about 3 or 4 times before the spy man finally answered his call. Nathan switched the call over to webcam. All that he saw was most likely Crowley's empty office at first. Crowley wasn't there, though. He instead heard two voices in the background conversing with each other back and forth. He sat there patiently for minute waiting to see if Crowley would turn up. He didn't.

Nathan finally spoke. "Hello? Mister Crowley? You there?"

The voices finally stopped and Nathan heard shuffling in the background. He finally saw a disheveled Crowley stumble into his own chair, looking as if he'd been wrestling with someone, or something.

Crowlely slicked his hair back and sighed in his chair for a second, looking up at his ceiling.

"Crowley?" Nathan called out.

He finally had his attention.

"Oh, sorry!" He quickly regained his posture. "Can you hear me? Is everything good?"

"Yeah, it's good." He gave him a nod. "So…"

Crowley looked around his desk for a second until he pulled out a slip of of paper. "Right. It's time for our first check-in! Yay! Sorry if you hear any noise in the background, it's most likely my Crow-"

He heard a bump, and the sound of wings flapping. Nathan didn't know where it was coming from until he saw a short, slim girl pounce on the back of Crowley's chair from behind, black feathers flying in a bunch of directions.

Crowley yelped in shock and the short girl perched herself above his head, using his shoulders for balance. She placed her feathered hands over Crowley's eyes and swung his head from side to side. The crow finally started to speak. "Crowley, it's feeding time! What are you doing?"

The girl couldn't have looked more than 12. She had short, jet black hair and emerald green eyes. She had a slender, thin frame with a tan complexion, her black feathered wings covering most of her forearms. The crow was wearing a simple, sleeveless black top and blue jean shorts. Her long, ears were pierced with small gold hoop earrings. This must be the "mangy" Crow Crowley mentioned back when they first met.

Crowley peeled the feathered hands off of his eyes to regain his vision. "I'm busy right now, Poe. I'm talking to -"

She continued to swing his head from side to side, playing with his hair and she went. "Talking to who? I see nobody." She poked fun at him in a playful, singsong tone.

Crowley pulled her head over to his computer screen so she could see Nathan. He was face to face with the small crow. "Oooohhhh. I see him now. Hi human! Hey there! I'm Po-Po the Crow! What's your name?"

He gave her a small wave and smile. "I'm Nathan. Nice to meet you. You must be the Crow I've heard about."

She looked into his eyes with her cute large green ones that easily took up most of her face. She teased Crowley in a singsong tune. "Ooooh Crowley, you're telling people about me? It better be good things I hope."

"Nothing you'd be interested in, you silly bird. Get off my head!"

She continued to swing his head from side to side. "Nooope!"

Nathan chuckled a little. "She seems like quite the handful."

Crowley shrugged and chuckled as well. "It's a process. I found her stranded in the rain alone one night, and I decided to take her in myself. She's been with me for a few years now. Anyways, I know what you must be thinking…"

"Where were you when Smith handed Fenra over?" Nathan answered his question for him.

"He was busy playing with Po-Po!" Poe continued to swing his head with glee. "Crowley forgot it was my play day! Silly Crowley, always forgetting to play with me!"

"T-that's a half truth. Had to fill out some dumb paperwork anyway. My bosses weren't to enthused that I approved you. Sorry about that, I hope Smith wasn't too hard on you. She can be a little intense."

"She was alright. Maybe a little rude though. Do you and her know each other?"

Crowley nodded. "Oh yeah, me and her go back years together. We started the program at the same time. Worked on quite a few of the same cases. She eventually decided to move to Japan to continue her work. Left me here all alone. She's one of the agents who was really instrumental in globalizing all of this. Don't take her attitude personally. She really loves what she does. Anyways…"

He looked over his paper with pen in hand. "So, how is it all going? How's Fenra? Everything all good?"

Nathan reflected on everything that had happened in the last week as he answered. "It's been… good. Better than I expected."

"Oh really? No problems to her adjusting?"

Nathan rubbed the cut cheek he had as a reminder. "Um, no. Not at all."

Crowley studied the mark for a second. He seemed fascinated. "Really now…"

"If you don't mind me asking Crowley, what happened to Fenra in those other homes? I'm curious because you and Smith and everyone else seems to think she's dangerous, but I'm not seeing why."

"Oh, yeah. Right." Crowley sat back in his chair. Poe was playing with his hair some more while singing a tune happily. His tone grew somber in a way. "She… she was neglected."

"You mean abused? How?" Nathan grew concerned. How could Fenra have been abused? She would've just beat the tar about of them if she felt so inclined. Fenra wasn't helpless.

"They did things to her. Hit her… hell, sometimes they wouldn't feed her at all. Not all of them did things, but some would. It was a rough time for her. When she'd get kicked out I'd have her stay with me. They were scared of her, kid. And when you're scared, you don't act in your rational mind sometimes."

The thought of Fenra being neglected in any way hurt Nathan. The hound that he knew that was on his couch had been nothing but a kind, and sweet girl.

"That's awful… Did it traumatize her in any way?"

Crowley replied. "She really insecure, believe it or not. Her flirting which I'm sure you've noticed by now, is a defense mechanism. She in particular craves and needs physical contact and touch to feel validated. It's part of her nature."

So that explained Fenra's clinginess. "So, what I can I do to make her feel better?"

Crowley pointed to the area on his neck with a smirk. "Seems to me you're already making good progress, kid."

Nathan felt the bite mark on his neck in response, a little embarrassed. "What these marks? Are they supposed to mean something?"

"A sign of affection, for sure. When a Hellhound finds someone they like or fancy, they'll mark them with those bites. It's a sign that they trust and feel close to you. I'm glad Fenra's finally found someone she likes."

Nathan blushed a little. "You mean she's…"

Crowley nodded with a smile. "Oh yes, she's most likely decided for you to be her mate. So that begs the question… how do you feel about her?"

Nathan didn't know what to think, or to feel. It's true he did feel… something for her. What was it, though? Was it love? No, it couldn't be. It had to just be the sexual attraction, nothing more. Nobody could ever love him for what he really was. He wasn't a good person. Not anymore.

But what if she did actually love him?

Could he honestly be able to return her feelings? It had been so long since he'd… loved someone. Cared for another that deeply.

But what about that night, Nathan? When you two kissed? When she said she loved you? Was that it? Was it real?

No, it couldn't be. He refused to believe it.

"I mean…" Nathan tried to say, but wavered in the confidence in the words he spoke. "She's pretty and all, but I-"

"Sorry kid, didn't mean to lay it on you so thick so quickly. I understand if you don't feel the same way. Liminals tend to fall hard and fast for those they care about. Their nature prevents them from doing otherwise."

"It's just… complicated. I'm not sure how I feel about it, exactly."

Crowley nodded. "I understand, kid. But give it some time and some thought. Who knows? Maybe you'll change your mind."

Nathan pondered it in his mind. "Maybe…"

Maybe he could think it over. Would it be so bad if she did love him? Maybe it might fix some of his problems if he had someone in his life.

"Take her out on a date sometime, kid. Show a lady a good time. See how you feel about her. She'd like that." Crowley finally set the paper aside.

A date? Yeah, maybe that would work. It couldn't hurt to try. It didn't have to mean anything.

"Anyways kid, I wasn't just calling you to ask about Fenra."

"Oh?" Nathan asked. "What else did you need, then?"

Crowley seemed embarrassed. "Well you see, I was wondering if you could handle some… work of mine for me…"

"What kind of work?" Nathan was curious.

"Well you see-" Crowley was interrupted by the cute Poe.

"Crowley's a lazy bum! He just wants to drink and -"

Crowley flicked her forehead and she winced in pain. "Owie! That hurt…"

"As I was saying…" Crowley continued this time uninterrupted. "I need you to go and check on… someone for me."

"Why not get Smith to do it? Surely she's more qualified than me to ask for favors."

Crowley nodded in agreement. "I would ask her but… Smith's busy at the moment. She's dealing with one of her most important cases right now over the phone. Some guy from Japan. Forgot his name."

"Oh." Nathan wasn't sure why that last part was relevant.

"So you're what I got to work with right now, kid. I'm too busy here trying to coordinate other cases." He shook his head and Poe started to giggle happily. "I also have to watch this little one. So how about it?"

It was none of Nathan's business, but he couldn't help but be drawn to the idea of doing work for the spy man. "What exactly do you need done?"

"Glad you asked." Crowley pointed at filing cabinet across the room and Poe flew over to it. She fiddled around for a second and then pulled out a file folder. She flew back over to Crowley and handed him the folder. He gave her a pat on the head and Poe smiled happily. "Thanks."

He opened the folder up and started to read it. "You know the neighborhood close to where you live with all the rich people houses and stuff?"

It took Nathan a minute to remember. "Oh yeah, I remember. It's been awhile since I've been down there." He used to go on rides through the neighborhood years ago with her in the Fall, when all the leaves and trees were about to go away.

"Well, I need you to check in on someone for me. Have you heard of the Peregrine Mansion in particular?"

The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't be sure how he remembered it. Nathan never had met any of the people who lived there.

"It's sounds familiar, I guess…"

"I'll give you some background. It's an old house, built a long time ago. Alexander Peregrine passed away in the last few years from old age, and left the entire place to his wife, Claire. She hasn't kept in contact with really any people since then, and were not sure if she's okay or not. We want to check on her and make sure she hasn't… passed on yet."

"So, why are you interested in her then? Can't the cops just do it?" Nathan asked the obvious question.

"I'm getting to that. Apparently some speculation has gone around that a… dragon may have been living with them. Nobody is sure why, or for how long this has been going on."

Nathan was surprised. "A dragon? How has nobody known about this? That's kind of a big deal."

"We don't even know for sure IF there is a dragon. Never been able to know for sure. But if there is one, we need to make sure she's okay, and if Claire's okay as well. Because if she has passed on, that dragon could have be living there alone as we speak. We don't want an incident on our hands, so I'm keeping this on the down low." Crowley sighed and lit up a cigarette with a gold plated flip lighter he produced from his pants pocket. "So what do you say? Can you do me a solid, kid? I'll try and find a way to pay you back somehow, I swear."

Nathan thought it over. If there really is a dragon, the people there could be in serious danger. Hell, he'd be in danger if he went. Why did Nathan care? It's not like he knew the Peregrines, or any of the rich people there. Maybe it was his guilty conscience the prevented him from being selfish.

"Fine, I'll do it. I blame you if I get ripped apart by the imaginary dragon. Or if I have to suffer an offer tea time with a rich old lady."

Crowley grinned and puffed out a plume of cigarette smoke into the air. "You'll be fine, I promise. I'll send you the address and-"

Poe started to cough from the air. "I hate when you smoke, Crowley! It's all icky!"

"Then get off my head, you silly bird."

"No! Po-Po likes this spot!" They started to feud again and ignored Nathan's existence.

"Umm…" Nathan was gonna try to say something but decided that it wasn't necessary. He finally ended the call and sat back in his chair. He received the address to the house in a message from Crowley not long after the call ended. Looks like head had plans for tomorrow.

He looked over at his cabinet and frowned. He felt the itch come over him again, and his hands started to tremble a bit. He pulled out the smokes from his pocket and lit up one of the death-dealing sticks. She never did like it when he smoked back then. He tried to quit so many times, but whenever the itch would come he knew it wouldn't go away until he inhaled the smoke into his lungs. All it would take for him to feel normal again was to just keep doing it.

It didn't help his addiction after the accident. It just made things worse. Instead of just wanting to smoke for the hell of it, he needed to smoke to just calm himself down from stress. Which was very often.

He pulled out his lighter and lit the death stick with the meager flame. He put the filtered end to his lips and held the smoke in his mouth for a moment before blowing it out. The itch was fed, and he felt normal again. The relief washed over him and Nathan closed his eyes as it did so.

He kept on smoking for a few minutes until felt the furry arms of the familiar Hellhound wrap around his neck. He felt a soft kiss planted on his head.

"Hey, Fuzzy."

"I'm tired, Pet. I'm going to bed now. You coming with me?"

"Just finishing this smoke up. I'll be there soon." He felt her arms slowly remove themselves from around his neck.

"Okay Pet, I'll see you in a bit then."

She turned around to leave and Nathan couldn't resist the feeling that he was missing something. His calm demeanor melted away as his depression had set in. He needed it back. Her warmth. He quickly got out of the chair and wrapped his arms around her waist tightly. He heard Fenra yelp a little in surprise.

"Is everything okay, darling?" She held his arms together with his. The image of this poor girl depressed and neglected hurt him deeply.

He nuzzled into her neck and took a deep breath. He felt so calm as he held her. He felt so complete. The world seemed to go away in that moment, and all that remained was the two of them. Why did he feel this way? "It's- nothing. Just thanks for checking up on me. It… means a lot."

She turned her head back to his and planted another warm kiss on his cheek. This time though, she held it there, both of their faces so close to each others now, as well as their bodies. He felt his heart to tremble and shake, and his body start to grow hotter and hotter. This felt right. He needed more of this, somehow.

He could have kissed her in return, but he wasn't that bold. That wasn't something he was capable of in that moment. Not yet.

She pulled her face away finally, and looked back into Nathan's dull blue eyes. He used to see her eyes as uncontrolled chaos at first, but as time has gone on, he saw a certain beauty in them. They were like flickering lights that danced across his mind. It was incredible. Nathan couldn't describe her in any other way.

"I'm here for you Nathan… If you need anything, just say so." He felt her fluffy tail brush up against him. "You can trust me…"

He believed her when she said that. It was easy. "I know. You… you go on now. I'll be in there soon."

She turned to face him and nodded. She gave him such a comforting smile, almost like… hers. "See you soon, then."

He nodded slowly in return. "Yeah…"

She finally left him there in the hall alone. He'd never felt so lonely in such a long time then. It hurt. He needed to make it go away. Nathan grabbed the rest of his smokes and went outside and leaned against the wall next to his driveway. He lit up another death stick, this time holding the smoke in way longer than one should. His lungs and throat start to burn. Nathan finally exhaled all the smoke and coughed a little. He looked up at the night sky, and the small stars that peppered it.

He'd used to look at the stars with her when they were younger. On some nights after a date he'd take her to the hills that overlooked their town and they'd spend the night looking. It felt so alien and different to him now. Almost like it was happened in another life.

On one of those nights, he confessed his deepest feelings to her while they were surrounded by stars and blackness. She did the same. He was so happy then.

But she was gone now. She'd been gone for awhile now. She always would be.

Nathan decided he finally had done enough torturing to himself for one night and went back inside. He slowly closed the door behind him and towards the direction of his bedroom. He yawned. Fenra was already on the bed in only her underwear still, watching him carefully as he went. He saw that her ears were furrowed in concern.

"Darling, are you okay? You look so… sad."

Nathan relaxed himself on the side of his bed, and buried the back of his head onto the pillow. "I'll be fine."

"Do you want to talk about it? Can I do-"

"It's fine, don't worry about it. It's just a little thing."

He felt Fenra's warm chest mush into his arm, as she cuddled up close to him. She held his arm to her chest with a sad frown. "I don't like seeing you so sad, Pet. It hurts."

"I'm sorry you have to see it. I can't help it, sometimes."

Fenra played with his hand in her paws. "Can I… "

He knew what she wanted. "Of course."

Nathan felt the hound lean her mouth close to his neck, her breath making his skin tingle. "I want you to feel better..."

She slowly dug her fangs into his neck, reopening the wounds that had been there before. She gnawed slowly, her tongue licking up the blood that spilled out. The wave of pleasure hit him again. It washed over him like a chill, and he breathed out a relaxed sigh. "Ahhh…"

She left another warm kiss softly on his new mark. "How does that feel?"

"Better." Nathan said. "Thank you."

She positioned herself on top of him and laid herself down on his chest, her breasts mushed into his torso. Even through her bra he could feel how soft and warm she was. He felt his hands wrap around her smooth toned waist and held her in place. "Sleep now, my darling. Just relax. I'll make it all go away..."

Nathan got comfortable as Fenra continued to gnaw at his marks. The pleasure waves continued to flood his senses. He felt himself finally start to let go, and the darkness took his body from him once again. Nathan was under her control again.

The hound never left his side the entire night.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Nathan slept through the night with little incident, all thanks to Fenra. He quickly and quietly left the house in the early morning, taking extra care not to wake his lovely hound companion.

He got into his car and pulled out of his driveway slowly, turning the corner to head down the street. Nathan had not eaten before he left, so he made a quick run to McDonald's (don't judge him) to pick up a Mcmuffin and some orange juice. He wasn't really a usual customer of quick fast food, unless it was Panda Express. Seriously guys, if you haven't been to Panda express yet, you're really missing out. Shameless plug aside, Let's continue.

It took him some time to follow the address that Crowley gave him, but he finally had made the trip over to the entrance into the neighborhood. It wasn't a gated community, so Nathan had no trouble pulling in and driving his way through the streets. The houses here were beautiful, taunting price tags that Nathan knew he'd never be able to afford in his life. That didn't distract from their beauty though.

Nathan made his way over to the last house on the right, that was hidden away by the cover of well planted huge trees all around the property. He had made it. He pulled his car to the side of the road, just to be careful. He pulled his keys out of the car and was about to get out when he stopped.

Nathan heard his stomach growl, and he remembered he still hadn't eaten the fast breakfast he'd picked up earlier. Better get on that. He picked up the warm Mcmuffin and bit into it. The combination of flavors tickled his mouth as he chewed and swallowed. A sigh escaped his mouth, the Mcmuffin was a guilty pleasure of his.

He watched the house as he ate. It was a beautiful, old fashioned three-story structure that easily could have been worth some serious cash. He wondered if the wealthy widow had a pool or some other pricey things in the back. He was washing down a bite of his food with his orange juice when he could've sworn he saw something pass over the roof of the house. He was too far away from the house to make out what it was though. Probably just a bird.

He remembered then what Crowley had said about the Dragon. What would something like that even be doing here? Maybe it might be attracted to whatever treasure could be inside the building. But that's if there even was one there. Enough waiting around, time to see what was going on.

Nathan finished of the food and finally exited his vehicle. Don't worry, he made sure to lock the car. He made his way up the cobblestone path that led to the house. The gate that stood before him was a beautiful, old fashioned metal contraption that seemed to come out of a fairy tale. Come to think of it, the house was very medieval inspired. It was funny to Nathan for a second. He was about to enter this castle (so to speak) and rescue the princess (she was old) and slay the dragon (he was gonna die). Sounds like fun.

The gate creaked quietly as he strode past it, and close behind him. Time to see what this place was all about. He walked up the front steps and made his way to the front door. The door was protected by a gothic door knob. Nice touch, he thought to himself.

He rapped it against the old wooden door, and heard the impact echo on the other side. Creepy.

"Hello? Mrs. Peregrine? Are you there?" Nathan called out.

He heard nothing in return.

"...Is anyone there?"

Nathan thought about giving up, but he decided to try one more thing. He tried the handle to the door. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. That couldn't have been good.

He decided to risk it. "Hello? I'm coming inside now. Uh, you left your door unlocked…"

He closed the door behind him, and stepped into the main foyer. It was massive. If you need a picture to describe it, imagine the mansion from Luigi's Mansion (I know it sounds stupid but Nathan made me say this).

"Mrs. Peregrine? Are you here? Somewhere?" Nathan called out into the massive room, but all he was given was his echo thrown back at him.

"Guess I'll have to search the rooms… All of them."

This was going to take awhile.

One thing Nathan noticed as he went along was that the house was kept very tidy, almost as if someone had been keeping a daily upkeep. She must have had a cleaning staff of some kind. He searched all the rooms he could find. Nathan looked through the multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, living or recreation rooms, gym, the kitchen (which smelled amazing lemme tell ya), and the office. He didn't find a soul. Or any evidence people had been living here. It felt off, it felt wrong.

"Where is everyone?"

He thought about leaving again until remembered he had one last place to check.

The back yard.

Maybe they were having a party outside? Didn't make much sense since Nathan saw no cars near or by the property, but it made him feel better at the idea.

Nathan walked back towards the main hall and went to the large glass screen door. He cupped his hands and looked through the glass. Still nothing. He opened the screen door and slid it behind him.

"Oh wow…" Nathan's mouth was slightly agape.

The back yard was a massive garden. Flowers of all kinds and sizes dotted the landscape in colorful unison. The smell was incredible.

He walked through the garden, listening to the birds chirp and sing as he went along. Nathan hadn't felt this peaceful in a long time. Still no sign of Mrs. Peregrine, or the dragon he was warned about. He found another little cobblestone path the went passed all the garden in a secluded area. Maybe she was there?

"Hello, anybody?"

Still nothing.

He walked up the path, the color and music of the birds now behind him. As he walked up the small path his cheery mood had suddenly changed to a more somber one. He didn't know why.

That's when he saw the clearing with the two graves side by side. Now he knew exactly why.

This was a small memorial of some kind. He stood at the edge of the clearing for a second, reluctant to try and get closer. His morbid curiosity got the better of him though, and he finally stepped into the clearing.

The words on the first grave read like this:

 _Here lies Sir Alexander Peregrine,_

 _February 16th, 1911 - October 7, 2012_

 _May he continue to protect the secret, even in death._

So Alex was a knight? What kind of knight? How had Claire lived alone for 5 years with no contact from outside people? What secret did he guard?

He turned his gaze to the other one. This didn't feel right. He felt like he was doing something he shouldn't have been.

 _Here lies Claire Peregrine,_

 _December 4, 1915 - June 19, 2017_

 _A loving wife, and an even more loving teacher._

So that was it, then.

Claire was dead. Had been for a month now it seemed. He felt sorrow for her, a woman he had never known, and never would get to meet.

Nathan decided to pay his respects. It felt like the right thing to do in that moment. He reluctantly spoke a few words.

"I was sent here to make sure you were okay, but it seems like I'm not needed any longer. You've passed on, and left this world to join your husband in eternal happiness. I may never get to know who you two were in life, but from the look of your house I hope you both lived happy lives in your wealth and splendor."

Nathan felt uncomfortable as he continued, almost as if he was being watched. Maybe Claire was there in spirit somehow.

"... I envy you, in a way. You get to see the love of your life again. You can spend each and every moment together for the rest of eternity."

Nathan tried to hold back a few tears.

"I… I don't get to do that. She's gone, but I'm still here. I'm all alone…"

Nathan wiped his eyes with his forearm, and he decided it was finally time to leave the late couple in peace. He'd call up Crowley when he left the house and was on his way home.

Nathan couldn't help but wonder as he walked out of the clearing and down the path.

If Claire was dead, and had been for some time... Why was the door open? Why was the house so clean?

… Who had buried Claire?

Nathan didn't feel safe anymore. He needed to leave. Now.

Nathan started to run now, finally out of the small path and into the garden. He stopped to look behind him.

Nothing was there, but Nathan couldn't help but feel like he wasn't alone.

Nathan then remembered.

The dragon.

He looked up towards the sky and saw a figure blocking out the sun with massive wings and long tail. Nathan couldn't move. The figure quickly shot down towards him, and pinned him to the ground hard with massive scaled feet and claws. The wind was knocked out of him, and Nathan started to cough and gag.

He tried to focus his sight, but wasn't able to do so. He heard a voice finally answer him. It was female.

And it was angry.

"You don't belong here."

Nathan finally was able to see.

The monster that had him pinned to the ground stood over him easily a foot or some taller than him. She had long, white hair that was in a ponytail with her bangs excluded, which went all the way down her back. Her eyes were a haunting yellow, and her irises were that of a primeval lizard. The scales that covered her were an obsidian black, and parts of it covered her cheeks and exposed shoulders. She had massive, well-tended horns on the back of her head.

She wore a sleeveless beige boob window sweater, and a small grey plaid skirt to go with it. Huh.

"Y-You..." Nathan tried to say but continued to cough.

The girl wore small round black spectacles on face as she addressed him. "You are trespassing, human. In a place you shouldn't be."

She looked she was in her late twenties. "You're the dragon…"

Her brow seemed to furrow a little. "You know of me, human? Explain yourself."

"I could if you-"

She pressed her large foot down on his foot. "Answer me."

Nathan coughed again. "I-I was sent here to check on Claire Peregrine… To see if she was okay…"

She pressed down harder. "How do you know her? Explain, human!"

Nathan felt like his ribcage was going to break. "The Program sent me here… They- they hadn't heard from her in so long that they… got worried. People had been reporting sightings of a monster here… You're her, aren't you? The dragon…"

She relented her pressure on his chest a bit. "I… am the dragon, yes… Why are you here? Why did you speak those words at her grave?"

Her foot finally got off of his chest, and Nathan finally was able to sit up. "What… what do you mean?"

She brought him to his feet. Nathan stumbled a little. "You said such sweet things… You said you were alone, and that you envied my mistress. Why?"

Nathan saw a frown appear on her regal and beautiful face. "Because she gets to be happy, with her husband. I can't. Because she's gone."

She placed one of her large back claws on his shoulder. "...You speak as if you've lost someone… you have, haven't you?"

She gave Nathan a sympathetic look in her eyes, understanding the pain that only another could relate to.

"Yes. I have."

"... Were you close?"

Nathan solemnly nodded. "Very."

"So you understand, then. You understand why I'm still here… Why I can't leave." The dragon replied.

"I know. It's hard to let go." Nathan said to the sympathetic girl. "What's your name, if I may ask?"

"My name is Gwynevere. But you, kind human, can call me Gwen. What is your name?" She held out her large hand to shake.

He took the large hand and shook it slowly. "It's Nathan. Nathan Walker. You have a nice name."

She gave a small bow in return. Nice manners. "Thank you. It's... Nice to meet someone who isn't afraid of me. It's been awhile. You have a pretty name as well."

Nathan was taken easily by the dragons sudden switch in demeanor. "Thanks, I guess… How long have you been here, Gwen? Do you live here?"

She gave him a nod. "I'll tell you anything you want to know. As long as you'll join me for some tea. Come."

She motioned to the door and Nathan felt like he had no choice but to follow her. They went back inside the large house, and settled down into the tea room. Gwen folded her wings (Like something Goliath can do if if you've seen the TV show Gargoyles) like a cloak over her sweater.

Nathan watched as she made some tea, humming a tune as she did so. She had a very pretty voice. She had some sort of accent, but Nathan didn't know where to placed. It was very european.

"Here you go, Sir Nathan." She handed him a small tea cup. The cup had to be priceless, and Gwen seemed to handle the sensitive material easily. She was used to using using equipment.

"Um, Sir?" Nathan asked confused.

"Oh pardon me. It's been along time since I've met another man. Did it bother you, milord?"

He shook his head. The girl spoke with an old tongue. "No, it's just odd. I mean I always loved the idea of knights and all but…"

"You don't consider yourself among them, then?"

He shook his head again and sipped his tea. "Not even close. Knights were brave, and sacrificed themselves for their causes. I could never compare to them. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you exactly?"

She put a claw to her lip. "How long has it been now… I guess close to a thousand years now?"

Nathan spat out the sip of his tea and started to cough. "B-but, you don't look to be much older than me…"

Gwen gave a soft smile. "I'll take that as a compliment milord. Dragons don't age nearly as fast as you humans do. We can last for millennia, sometimes even longer than that."

"So how long have you been here, then? With the Peregrines?"

"Not for too long. I'd say only the past 90 years or so."

"That's still a long time."

Gwen gave a cute chuckle. "Sorry, milord. Time seems to pass by so quick for me now."

"Why are you here now, then?"

Gwen sipped her tea with the hook of her claw. "Oh, I've been with them since they were young ones. Served them all their lives."

"You were their maid, or something like that?"

"More than that. I was more of a parental figure, to be honest. Master Alex was abandoned as a child. His father perished in the Great War, and his mother left him to his own devices shortly after. I found him alone in the woods one day close to his home, crying to himself all alone. I took him under my wing, and raised him as one of my own."

"What about Claire?" Nathan asked curiously.

"I helped them get together and get married. Such a shy thing, she was. Always so nervous. She was scared of me at first. But after the decades went by, she grew to feel comfortable around me."

"Wow… You outlived your own surrogate child. I can't imagine what that's like." Nathan felt such empathy towards the lonely dragon. No wonder she still lingered here.

Gwen sighed with a frown. "I've lived a long life. I've met, loved, and watched many friends die as the years passed. It always hurts to lose another one, but that's life, young one."

"Then… What's next for you now? What are your plans?"

"I don't know, milord… I think I'll just stay here to keep vigil over their graves. I don't think I can leave them alone. When you lose someone you love, you can't help but feel like a piece of you died with them."

Nathan felt a tear or two well in his eyes. He knew how exactly she felt. "I understand. I don't blame you…"

"Who have you lost, young one? I can see such deep sorrow in your eyes." He felt an affectionate hand from the dragon pet his arm.

"Someone important to me. Someone I don't want to live without. I don't like remembering it. It hurts."

"Did you love her?"

"Yes. More than even myself."

"What was her name?"

Nathan shook his head. "Sorry, I don't feel comfortable talking about it. I-I can't."

Her voice soothed him. "It's alright, young one. I understand. Another time, then."

She was like him, in a way. She understood what it felt like. How much it hurt.

The thought of Gwen being alone bothered him. Such a sweet and loving person didn't deserve to suffer and grieve in solitude.

"Why are you here, milord?"

"Like I said before, I was sent by the Program. I was told that if I found you and that if Claire was dead… I was supposed to take you in."

Gwen sighed. "I guess it's finally time, then. I knew this couldn't last forever. Can I… just have a few seconds to say goodbye, and pack my things?"

"Of course. Take as long as you need."

She gave him a warm smile. "Thank you, milord. You are kind."

Nathan and the dragon finished the rest of their tea, and he went back outside to the front of the house. Now was a good time to call Crowley.

He pulled out his smartphone, and dialed the spy man's number. It took him a few rings before picking up.

"Hey, Nathan! What's up, how did it-"

"She dead, Crowley." Nathan said into the device.

It was a second before he heard his voice again. It was grim. "... How long has it been?"

"About a month, now. It's been taken care of, though. Her body's been buried and everything."

"By who?" Crowley asked.

"Your dragon. Apparently those reports weren't all fairy tales after all."

"No shit…" Crowley said in amazement. "So she's been there all this time, alone…"

"Sir," Nathan continued. "What am I supposed to do with her? I'm not leaving this girl alone here by herself."

"Well, I didn't expect this to be the outcome… I guess you'll just have to take her with you back to your place until I can send someone over. I'm sorry. I didn't expect this. You gonna be okay, kid?"

Nathan nodded. "I'll be fine. Just make sure this house is taken care of."

He hung up the phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. Fuck.

Nathan pulled out a cigarette and started to smoke. How was he going to explain this to Fenra? How would she react? Guess he'd just have to bear it. Nathan knew he couldn't leave the girl alone here though. It just wasn't an option.

He stepped on the cigarette and stubbed it out. It took a few minutes before the dragon flew her way over to him, easily lifting multiple suitcases as she went.

"Thank you. For letting me say goodbye. It means a lot."

"No problem. Let me help you with your bags."

Nathan and Gwen loaded up the trunk of his car, and Nathan opened the door for her to get in. She gave him a small bow and got into the passenger seat. As he started up the car, he notice Gwen's eyes never left the window of the car. She took one last look at the house, and Nathan finally pulled away.

If Nathan had gone back to the graves, he would've seen a bouquet of flowers, and a small handwritten note that read this:

 _To the two that I cherish the most in this life and in the next,_

 _Thank you. For everything._

 _/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-_

 **A/N: Sorry this took so long for to come out. While trying to write this chapter all week, it was incredibly difficult. I was really depressed, and I didn't think I could do it. But you nice comments made me feel like I owed it to you to push through. Another big thank you to all who are following this and favoriting. Without you, I don't know if I could do this.**

 **Hope you all enjoy Gwen, I really am fond of her, and I hope you will be too.**

 **As always, remember to favorite and follow to keep up on this expanding narrative. And if you feel so inclined, please leave a review down below and let me know what you think.**

 **keep your friends close and your monsters closer.**

 **I'll see you all real soon.**

 **Next chapter should be in about a week. Actually no, it might not be. This week I will be primarily playing the Destiny 2 Beta on PS4. If any of you guys are on PS4 and have access to the beta as well, add me on PSN and maybe we call play together and chat. I'd love to get to know you all if I could.**

 **PSN: FyrusKasai**

 **imgur link to my drawings:** **/a/CldtP**


	4. Chapter 4: The Ignis

**A/N: Hey guys, welcome. Nathan's busy at the moment, so he sent me to tell you guys a few things before we continue:**

 **1: Sorry this took awhile to come out, I did say I would be busy playing the Destiny 2 Beta over the weekend, and that the chapter would come out the following week. Hope the wait wasn't too long for any of you.**

 **2: Got some responses pertaining to the tone of the last chapter. Yeah, this story is going to go to some pretty dark places, maybe I should have put a warning or something.**

 **3: Thanks again for the follows and favorites, goes without saying. Reviews have also been very helpful.**

 **Looks like Nathan is ready for you guys now, so I'll get out of your way.**

 **Hit the lights.**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"No."

"Oh come on Fenra, it's only for a few days…" Nathan pleaded to the hound.

"And the answer is no."

Nathan scratched the back of his head in stress as he tried to negotiate. Fenra was not pleased at all to seeing Gwen for the first time. He had to beg basically to even be allowed back in with her in tow.

"She has nowhere else to go right now, Fenra. She just like-"

The hound cut him off abruptly. "She's nothing like me. She's doesn't know what I've gone through, or what I've had to deal with in the past."

Gwen said nothing, but only quietly studied the hound from behind him, observing her manners and tendencies. She was wise enough to know not to say anything stupid. Nathan rubbed his forehead in stress as he continued.

"Look, I can't just let her go out and be her own-"

"Why not? What does it matter to you what happens to her?"

Nathan groaned in irritation. "I-I can't explain it to you in an easy way that'll make sense. I just… can't. I gotta let her stay. It's the right thing to do."

"If I may-" Gwen tried to chime in but the hound venomously growled at her.

"I don't want to hear a single word out of you, you old fossil. If you know what's good for you, you'll keep that snout of yours shut."

Gwen scoffed in return. "How rude. How do you even stand to be in the same room as this mutt?"

Fenra growled and was very close to wanting to exchange blows. "Just keep on talking, see what happens…"

The two liminals argued back and forth, each calling each other various hurtful names and remarks. They seemed to forget that Nathan was even there in the same room with them. He started to get a little nervous, and a little frightened even at the intensity that they were going at.

"H-hey…" Nathan stuttered, trying to get their attention.

They easily ignored his comment, and kept on going. Things were going to get worse if Nathan couldn't defuse the situation. Could he even stop them if he tried though?

Things were reaching a fever pitch now. Nathan felt himself starting to get mad. Mad at himself for even letting this break out to begin with. The two liminals were in each others face now.

"How about I make some scars on that pretty face of yours, I'm sure it'd be quite an improvement…"

Gwen smirked. "I could say the same for you. I know just the place to put one-"

Nathan yelled out in anger, desperate for this to end. "ENOUGH!"

Both of them quickly back away from each other, each of them looking at Nathan with a certain level of fright. Fenra looked almost like a scolded child who'd been giving a stern talking to.

"Shame on you, the both of you... " Nathan over between the two of them and stood. "We're all adults here, especially you Gwen."

Gwen held her head down in embarrassment. "Forgive me, milord…"

Nathan looked over at Fenra with a glare. Fenra was caught off guard by his own intensity and looked ashamed. "I'm disappointed, Fenra. You're so much better than this. Are you really about to let her get to you?"

Fenra's ears drooped and she looked down in shame as well. "But-"

"Zip it, I'm talking right now. Look…"

Fenra looked a little hurt that he interrupted her. Nathan sighed. He didn't want to have to talk this way to her, but it was necessary.

"... Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I don't want to have to be a parent here, and I shouldn't have to be. You are a grown woman, Fenra. But, I'm the man of the house here, and I will make the final decision."

"But-"

"What did I just say? Zip. It. I'm in charge right now."

Fenra looked like she want to say so much more, but she relented finally. The stubborn Hellhound had been subdued, for the moment. Nathan turned to Gwen and spoke again.

"You'll be staying here, however long or short that may be. That's my final decision. Since Fenra has taken my guest bedroom, you can stay in my own room until we work this all out with Crowley."

Gwen looked puzzled. "Your room, milord? But then, where will you sleep?"

Fenra looked concerned as well. "But-"

Nathan groaned in frustration. "I'll be fine on the couch, don't worry about it."

"Surely there is enough space for both of us, milord. I'd be more than open to sharing…"

Nathan shook his head. "No, that's fine. I'll make it work."

He turned back to Fenra.

"I expect you to treat Gwen fairly while she stays here. If you don't Fenra… No more headpats."

"That's not fair…" Fenra whimpered and looked at him, very upset at the idea of losing one of her favorite pastimes. He knew it was cruel to use that against her, but if he didn't there would no real way to control the hound otherwise.

"That all depends on you, Fenra. Are you going to cooperate?"

The hound wanted to protest some more, Nathan could see in burning inside of her eyes. She sighed, and resigned herself to his command. "Fine. "

"Good." Nathan said. "Gwen, feel free to bring your bags into my room and unpack. Fenra, go do whatever. God, I need a drink…"

Nathan left the room to grab a beer from his fridge in the kitchen, leaving the two liminals alone together. Fenra walked over to the dragon, and helped pick up one of the bags. Gwen looked grateful.

"Thank-" Gwen tried to say, but was once again cut off by the hound.

"I'm only doing this for him, don't get any ideas." She said as they walked over to his room, placing her luggage on top of his bed.

Fenra took a deep breath, and sighed. "... I-I want you to see something."

Gwen set the last case down. "What?" She asked.

She just motioned for the dragon to follow, and so she obliged. She brought Gwen over to the entrance to his office, in which Nathan was drinking some much needed alcohol to calm his nerves. Nathan hadn't been a user of the bottle in a long while, but it was a necessary evil to keep the stress and anxiety from getting to him. She made a motion for Gwen to be quiet, and they quietly observed him as he sat in his chair. Nathan sat there, trying to calm down after the tense confrontation they all had.

They watched for a bit longer as Nathan lit up a cigarette. He leaned back into his chair, and sighed loudly. That was their cue to leave.

Fenra brought Gwen back with her into his room, and close the door behind them. Gwen sat on the bed, looking puzzled as she did so.

"Why did you show me that? Is it supposed to mean something?"

Fenra leaned against the wall closest to Gwen. "... He means a lot to me."

"Nathan?"

She slowly nodded. "H-he was the only one who took me in, and didn't regret it. He'd made me feel like I belong somewhere, in a place I never thought I could. A home."

"I had no idea, I'm sorry. If I had known you were so close to him…"

"Look, I'm not happy at all you are here. Not at all. But seeing as my Pet has a big heart, I guess I have no choice but to put up with it. I just want to make a few things clear to you…"

Gwen gave a nod, and listened patiently. Fenra was annoyed at her kind and patient nature.

"That man you saw out there alone, is mine. Not yours. Nobody elses. I'll take care of him, and make him happy. If I see you hurt or do anything to him I don't like, I will make sure you'll pay for it dearly. Do I make myself clear?"

Gwen politely nodded. "I'd never hurt such a nice man. You have my word that I'll be mindful of my stay here."

Fenra seemed to find that answer satisfactory to her, and decided it was time to leave her be for now. She left Gwen to rearrange and unpack her things in his room while she pondered about the situation.

Nathan took another drag on his cigarette, a wave of relief finally left his lungs. "Ahh… That's feels so much better…"

He felt bad for forcing this whole thing on Fenra. He knew that Fenra was incredibly possessive and stubborn, and hated whenever he spoke or interacted with other people. He also knew where those feelings now came from, with the information that Crowley had divulged to him in confidence. Maybe he should apologize to her, or better yet…

Why not do what Crowley asked him to do, and take her out on a date somewhere to make up for it? He did enjoy whatever time he got spending with the hound, and he felt like he owed her. Where would he even take her on a first date, though? A movie? Some restaurant that would drain his wallet?

What a minute, what was he saying? Was he actually considering the idea of… getting closer to her? He admitted to himself early into Fenra's stay that he was easily attracted to her, although to the extent of what he felt he wasn't even sure himself. Could he really ever get that close to another person, after everything that had happened to him? Would she even want to deal with the problems he had? Maybe that didn't matter to her. You don't always see what's on the inside when you first meet a person.

Nathan's thought train was quickly cut short after he heard canine whimpering from his doorway. The needy hound looked at him, her black ears furrowed and fluffy tail slowly whipping back and forth.

"Fenra?"

She continued to whine and whimper, easily melting her way into Nathan's heart. What was the matter now?

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

Fenra didn't say anything, but simply walked over to Nathan and bent down to her knees. She took his left hand hand into her own, and placed it on her soft cheek. She kept on whimpering and whining.

Nathan put his other hand on her head, and slowly petted and rubbed her scalp and hair. She nuzzled into his hand, and quietly resumed her whining as he did so.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Fuzzy. I wasn't trying to be mean. You know that, right?"

A happy sigh left her. "I know. You just have to be the nice guy, don't you?"

Nathan gave her a smirk. "Sorry, can't help it."

"I know you can't help it, which is why…" Fenra tried to search for the humility in her in order to continue. "I want to… apologize."

Nathan felt the grin on his face widen. She was learning. "You don't need to apologize, Fuzzy. I should have known it would be difficult for you to adjust. I'm sorry for putting you in an uncomfortable position."

"I'm just... worried that if you let her stay, that we'd… You'd…" She whimpered again.

"You're afraid it's gonna change the relationship me and you have?"

She nodded.

Nathan sighed and he continued to pet his hound. "Oh Fuzzy… You don't need to be scared. Sure, some things are going to be different. But the amount of time me and you spend shouldn't have to change. We can still be as close as you need me to be."

She looked up into his dull eyes. "You'd do that for me?"

He tousled her long wild black hair. "I told you I'd take good care of you, didn't I?"

That was true. He'd do just about anything to make sure she was happy. It's what she deserved, after such a hard time in the past. What harm could come from continuing to indulge her physical insecurities?

She leapt into him, causing the chair to fall over. Nathan yelped in response as Fenra held him in an impossible to escape hug, and nuzzled and kissed him all over. "Thank you so much, darling… You're the greatest." She giggled happily.

Nathan chuckled. He was used to the unrelenting affection that the hellhound was capable of at this point.. "I'm not that great, believe me."

"To someone like me, you are." Fenra gave him another kiss on the bandaged cheek that still remained on his face. "Your kindness means more to me than you know…"

Now was more or less the perfect time to ask her.

"Hey Fuzzy… I have something I want to ask you…"

"Yes, Pet?" She gave him a loving smile.

Nathan was still nervous, even with Fenra being so open and candid with him. He felt his face get all hot, and his palms start to get sweaty. Fenra noticed the sudden change and giggled gleefully.

She whispered in his ear, causing chills to run down his spine. "Aw, you're so adorable when you're nervous… I could just eat you up…"

Nathan almost choked on his next few words in response as he spoke. "Well… how would you feel if I took you out on a… well, you know…"

Fenra got excited. "A date?"

Nathan was happy she had pieced it together for him, so he could stop looking like a nervous wreck. "Uh, yeah. Something like that."

Fenra gave him a seductive wink. "It's about damn time you asked me. So you got a plan, handsome? Where are you gonna take me?"

Nathan shrugged. "Up to you. You're the VIP for the day."

He honestly had no clue where to begin if the choice fell to him.

"Well let's see…" Fenra sat up, rocking her hips back on forth on his crotch.

Nathan blushed a little harder. "Uh, could you not do that?"

She continued to do it, maybe even a little harder than before. Fenra gave him a playful smirk and stuck her tongue out.

"I'm just dying for some good meat… You wouldn't know where we could get some, now do you?"

The consistent grinding of her hips made it hard for him to concentrate.

"Uh, I think we can work something out..." Nathan replied.

"Sounds like fun…" Fenra teased. Her constant rocking now making it really hard to not appear aroused himself. He needed an out, before things got any more steamy.

"What sounds like fun?" He heard the lovely voice of Gwen behind them. Gwen was politely standing in the doorway. Perfect out. She took notice of the um, particular position they were in.

"Oh my.." Gwen put a hand to her mouth. "I'm not interrupting anything… interesting, am I?"

Nathan took this moment to slide from under Fenra, causing her to stumble and fall off of him.

"Um, nope. Nothing at all."

Gwen smirked a little. "I see. It seems like you two have some plans. Mind if I get filled in?"

Fenra was quick to shut her down. "It's none of your-"

Nathan didn't know when to shut his mouth. "I was planning on taking Fenra out to eat somewhere."

Fenra gave him a look that most likely read, "I'm not sharing."

"Ooh, sounds like fun! If there's space, I'd love to be invited."

"You're not invited, it's a-" Fenra was cut off once again. She shot out a glare at Nathan. She was starting to get that jealous look in her eyes again.

"There's plenty of room for another, I'd love to have you tag along. I need to show you around town anyways."

Nathan saw the burning glare that Fenra was giving him, and all he really could give was a shrug with his hands up saying, "What am I supposed to do?"

Gwen smiled and bounced happily. "Sounds like fun, I'm all excited now!"

Fenra rolled her eyes at Gwen's enthusiasm. "I'm gonna take a nap."

The hound brushed quickly past the dragon and down the hall, slamming the door to her room behind her.

"What's her problem?" Gwen asked.

Nathan had repositioned his chair back into its normal position. "Sorry about that. Fenra's just a little... possessive is all."

Gwen folded her arms. "Just a little? She seems like she can't bear to keep her paws off of you for a second."

Nathan chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, she definitely can be a little… forward."

Gwen looked back over at the door to Fenra's room. "She's really not what I expected, at all."

"Oh?" Nathan replied.

"Her threatening appearance doesn't seem to mesh with her own personality. I've never heard of or seen before such a hellspawn with such a… caring disposition."

Nathan sighed and sat back down in his chair. "She's different, that's for sure. Appearances can be deceiving."

"That they can be…" Gwen replied. "So you two get along well?"

Nathan nodded. "Oh yeah, really well. We spend a lot of time together. Come to think of it, there isn't a moment that I'm home where Fenra isn't close or trying to snuggle with me."

"She must really trust you, then. To want to be with and so close to you. It's not hard to see why."

"You think there's a specific reason?" Nathan asked the dragon.

"Isn't it obvious?" The dragon snorted. "Your openness and kind energy is like a beacon. People are attracted to qualities like that. It's probably why I'm standing in front of you right now."

Nathan thought back to the reference to Fenra's past trauma.

"She's had a rough time in the past. I feel bad for her. I've been doing my best to try and make up for her past experiences."

Gwen smiled. "It seems like you're doing better than you think. She looks happy."

Nathan sighed, and realized he hadn't finished the current smoke he had started earlier. He took the cigarette in hand and began to puff. "I really hope so."

"If you'll pardon my directness milord, why do you smoke?" Gwen pointed at the death stick in his hand.

Nathan exhaled a plume of smoke, and looked at the cigarette in his hand. He kind of shrugged. "It's just something I do to relax, you know? To make the stress go away."

Gwen stepped forward with a frown. "But that doesn't last for a long time, does it? The stress always comes back. It doesn't just go away when you want it to."

Nathan nodded, it wasn't the first time he'd heard that whole deal. "I've tried to quit before. It's just… complicated."

"It shortens your already short life. Wouldn't you want to live to the fullest potential you can?"

He knew where she was coming from. He shrugged. His parents once had a very similar talk with him in the past, although that involved way more yelling and shouting at him. "To be honest, whatever gets me off this place the quickest."

Gwen's frown seemed to deepen. "... That's a very sad outlook to have. You have so much potential and opportunities left in your life. You shouldn't waste them."

"Well," Nathan took another puff of the smoke. "When you're as depressed as me, and what I've gone through, maybe staying here isn't as nice and positive as you make it sound."

"You don't look like your very depressed." Gwen answered. "I've seen you smiling, and you looked happy."

Nathan held a finger up and took another puff.

"It's just a mask I put on. When you've always had depression, you learn to hide that around other people. Whenever I'm around other people, I can change and adapt accordingly. Half the time I'm pretending to act like someone I'm not, the other half I'm trying to be like someone I wish I was."

"So then," Gwen paused. "Which side of you is the real one?"

Nathan shook his head in response. "I'm not sure if there's anything real about me at all. I don't know who I am, or what I'm supposed to be. I guess I'm just… lost."

"Why are you lost?"

Nathan put the finished cigarette butt in his ashtray. "I lost the one person I loved more than anything else. She was my very purpose for even wanting to live. Without her with me, I have nothing to go for. I have nothing to gain by still being here."

Gwen seemed to be trying to get into his head. He knew what she was up to. He didn't care though. If she wanted to know how much of a disappointment he was, she'd find out real quick.

"...What was her name?"

He was going to tell her. Why did he bother trying to hide all of this to begin with? What good did it do for him? Maybe he could get his fucking life on track if somebody else knew.

"...Emily."

Saying her name for the first time out loud in such a long time was almost surreal. It was like something that was familiar to him had suddenly returned.

"That's a beautiful name."

Nathan nodded. "Yeah. It was."

"What was she like?"

Nathan looked directly into Gwen's reptilian eyes. His dull blue eyes conveyed the sorrow in his words as he spoke. "Have you ever felt like you were always missing something? Like a piece of yourself was never there?"

The onyx dragon shook her head. "I can't say I really know what that feels like, even after all the time I've lived..."

"That's what Emily was, and still is to me. A piece of me. A part of me that I've lost forever. Without her, I feel like only half a person."

Gwen walked closer to him. "... What happened to her?"

Nathan shook his head. "I don't talk about what happened. I haven't for a long time. All you need to know is that it was my fault, and that I'm responsible."

"I can't imagine what you've been through, and I'm not going to act like I know how it feels. I may have lost people before in my long lifetime, but the loss of someone isn't universal in feeling. Will I ever get to know what happened?"

"Maybe."

Gwen put her large claws on his broad shoulders, and looked down at him. "If I can do anything to help somehow, milord. Just let me know."

Nathan nodded. "If you could do me just one favor, please don't repeat any of this to Fenra or anyone else. I don't know how Fenra would react if she saw me talk like this. I don't think I could handle making her sad."

"Of course. I won't say a word, milord. You can confide in me with whatever you feel comfortable sharing."

"Thank you, Gwen. I'm sorry for making the mood so dark." Nathan clapped his hands together, now being the time to change the conversation. "Now, you said something about food?"

Gwen nodded and smiled. "Food would be nice. But I'd wouldn't want to intrude, of course. It looked like you wanted it to be only a table for two."

That was a fancy way of telling him she knew he wanted to take Fenra on a date. Gwen was smarter than she let on. Just how much could she read into him? Scary thought.

"That was the idea, but I don't mind having you come along if you want to."

"It's okay, milord. You and her should have some time together alone. Maybe some other time, you could take me out on a date, and show an old girl a good time." She gave him wink.

"We will see." Nathan smiled. "I hope we get along well, for however long or short of a time that may be. I know leaving the mansion wasn't an easy choice to make."

"I think we'll get along very well." Gwen patted him on his shoulders.

Nathan chuckled. "I guess so, then."

She turned around, and slowly showed herself out of his office, after tugging at one of his legs with her long scaled onyx tail playfully. She was a good person, Nathan thought. I almost wish I could be like her, in some ways. Being so empathetic, and making the effort to help others.

He looked over at the cabinet that was next to him. He pulled out the picture frame that held the picture of his dear Emily. He played the words in his head over again around the situation he took that picture.

 _Come on, you big goofball. You don't know how a phone works?_

 _I know how my phone works. Your phone to me is like alien technology._

 _Your a smart guy, you'll figure it out._

 _I always do._

 _Now don't be so shy and get in the frame. Let's make a few memories out of this._

 _Lets._

Emily always encouraged him, no matter what he did. Even when she discovered his drug addiction, she wanted him to get better. To be a better person.

"What would you think of me now, if you saw me?" He spoke to the picture, obviously not getting a response to it. "Would you be proud of me?"

Even he wasn't sure what that answer was.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"You're not slacking off again, are you Smith?"

Smith jolted her head up, trying to hide her face with her disheveled black hair. she'd been taking regular naps the whole shift today. "Who, me? I wouldn't dream of it. Just nursing another hangover, is all."

"Ha." Crowley knew all too well Smith's work ethic and enthusiasm was lacking. Smith was always either hung over, or about to get drunk. "So, how has that Kurusu or whatever kid been doing?"

Smith pushed her glasses back up her nose. "Still talks of that marriage in the works. Although to who though, your guess is as good as mine. My bet is on the snake."

Crowley scoffed. "Mine's on that spider. I've always been a legs man, and a fan of spiders. We really don't get a lot of spiders, do we?"

"Nice to know you like something on a normal woman's body." Smith crossed her shaped legs over. If there was a part of Smith's body Crowley knew for a fact was perfect, it was her long, shapely legs.

"Did I say that?" Crowley grinned. He enjoyed their casual back and forth flirting. Made him feel younger.

"Perhaps. Right now though, I'm more interested in that Walker kid of yours. How's he doing?"

"He doing great, from what it looks like. Fenra seems to finally have a good place. The poor kid is covered in those marks of hers." Crowley helped himself to the alcohol that Smith kept in her office. She didn't object.

"I still feel bad for not noticing sooner, how badly we screwed up with her. Do you think she still blames us?"

Crowley shrugged as he took a drink. "Probably just me. She trusted us to make the right choice. At least now we can try and forget it happened."

"You think he'll try and make the right choices with her?"

Crowley nodded. "I hope so."

"So, onto business now? Or are you content staring at me all day?"

"Sounds pretty tempting…" Crowley teased.

"I bet it does."

They really needed to go out sometime, the two of them The tension between them was so obnoxious even other people in the office could see it. Crowley had never married, or been in a significant relationship in years. As far as he knew, so had she.

Crowley took a seat in the room next to Smith. "Well, things have been pretty interesting in town lately. I've had to deploy my MON squad way more often than I'm used to. A lot more gang and species violence than we're normally used to."

"How is Hobbes doing? She hasn't been the leader of the team for very long."

"It's an adjustment, but Hobbes is a tough girl. One of the toughest I know. She's Jinko, it's in her blood. The scars from that last encounter though, I don't know if she'll get over."

Crowley remembered being in the ambulance with Hobbes to the hospital, hold her clawed paw while she cried and whimpered about losing her face.

"Have you found a place for them to stay yet, instead of the office?"

Crowley pulled out a few papers and reports from under his arm. "Haven't been so lucky yet. But with some recent developments, I think we may have an option."

He pulled out some photos of the Peregrine mansion. Smith picked them up and studied them.

"I sent that Walker kid over to check things out. It turns out Claire's been dead for awhile, and that dragon of hers was still there."

"So, what's your plan then?" Smith asked. "You want to take over the land or something?"

"Something like that. It would be the easiest way to get Hobbes and all of them a place to live."

Smith handed him back the photos. "You'd obviously would need Gwen's approval before you could even get that off the ground."

"I'm working on it. I just have to get access to Claire's will from the records. I'm pretty sure if I can get that, she'll happily come around and work with us. It really is a nice house. Amazing garden, too."

"So, where is she staying now?"

"At the Walker kids place."

Smith gave him that stare. "You didn't…"

Crowley took another large drink. "He has the space for right now while we sort things out here."

Smith rolled her eyes. "Great, you've just created another harem in the making."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing." Crowley laughed a little.

"You think he'll be able to handle it until we relocate her?"

"I don't know if he's up for it, but I hope he'll be able to roll with it."

Smith folded her arms. "You know it's all on you if things go wrong, right?"

Crowley was fully aware of the risk he was taking. Why else would he have sent Nathan there?

"Yeah… I know."

He just hoped Nathan would be up to the task at hand.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"You know, you don't have to just stare…" Fenra called out Nathan for his wandering gaze. It's her fault Fenra deliberately wore clothes that showed off so much of her body. Fenra was wearing that white wide neck sweater and tight jean shorts he had bought for her. He almost regretted buying them. Almost.

"I'm good, thanks for the offer though…"

They had left Gwen to watch the house, which she had no issue with. She even said she would "tidy the place up a bit" while they were away. Handy. He already liked her. It was really going to suck when she would have to leave.

Fenra held his arm close to her bosom, with her clawed hand interlocked with his. Like usual, she refused to let him go. Not that he wanted to let hand go, anyway. He felt a small about of comfort when she held him.

He had driven them this time instead of walking, so Nathan wouldn't have to deal with Fenra growling at passersby, although they did have to walk to the restaurant after parking the car. The place Nathan had picked out for the two of them was one he'd been a regular at for a long time now. The city he lived in was just so interconnected, everybody really got to be involved in each others lives.

When he and Fenra walked in the door, (which he politely opened for her) The manager Chase greeted him with a hearty laugh and smile.

"Nathan my boy, it's been awhile since you've stopped by! What's the occasion? Just hungry, or something…" Chase noticed the hellhound that had wrapped herself around Nathan. Chase whistled.

"Well now, who's this darlin' you got with you this evening?"

"His girlfriend." Fenra replied and nuzzled him.

Nathan felt his heart skip a few beats and his face blush. She didn't just say that, right? His girlfriend? No, the air inside the restaurant must just be getting to him.

Another hearty laugh came from Chase. "Well, it's about time you got yourself another lovely lady in your life! Always hated seeing you look so lonely when you used to come in. How long has this been a thing?"

Nathan rubbed his neck and stammered. "Only just a few weeks now. It's a pretty recent thing, I guess."

Chase clapped his hands together. 'Well, looks like it's time to celebrate! Follow me you two, and I'll steal you some seats."

They followed Chase further into the restaurant, passing tables that were filled with various humans, and liminals as well. Chase was one of the few people that was there from the start in support of the program three years ago. He always had a motto when he was asked about the inclusion of liminals as customers: "If the food is good and doesn't cost too much, I don't see why anyone or anything couldn't enjoy it all together!"

He was a good man, and someone Nathan respected. Maybe if he was lucky, Chase would slide a discount his way for the meal. He would probably need it, considering the monstrous appetite for meat that Fenra possessed.

Chase brought them to a small booth that was further in the back, away from any prying eyes. Nathan appreciated the extra effort on his part. He handed them the menus.

"Can I get you two anything to drink for starters?"

Nathan had pretty much memorized his menu a long time ago. "I'll take a Golden Spike Hefeweizen, my usual."

Chased nodded. "Ah, of course. I'll make sure to get it to you ice cold. Now, for you, young lady?"

Fenra perused the menu, but wasn't sure what she wanted herself. "I'll take what he's having."

"An excellent choice!" Chased bellowed. "I'll be back with your drinks, don't go anywhere!"

Fenra watched as the large man lumbered his way back over to the front.

"He seems nice." Fenra said.

"Oh, Chase?" Nathan replied. "Yeah, he's a big ol' sweetheart. He'd never turn down anyone who would come through his door. Speaking of which… what did you mean when you called yourself my girlfriend?"

Fenra gave him a loving smile across the table, and Nathan chuckled. "What are you smiling at? I'm was just curious as to what thats supposed to mean."

"You mean it's not obvious?" She said sweetly. "You know I like you. It's not like you're already in a relationship, right?"

She rubbed his hand with her paw. Nathan blushed. He should've seen that coming. "No, I'm not in one. Haven't been for a long time."

Fenra licked her lips. "Well, that settles it then."

"Wait, that settles what?"

"That you're my boyfriend. You've been mine from the moment I laid eyes on you, but saying it like this makes it official."

Whoa whoa whoa, hold on just a fucking minute.

"Oh, uh…" Nathan stammered. "That's-"

"Oh come on, Pet. Are you honestly going to tell me you don't feel the same way, after all the time we spend together? You can't tell me you don't enjoy snuggling with me at night?"

She had him, Nathan did like that. "I do enjoy the company, yes…"

Fenra point a claw to her neck. "My bite marks on you aren't just for show, you know. It means something to me."

"Oh?" Nathan rubbed the frequently reopened bite mark on his neck. "What are they supposed to mean, then?"

"Well, you've given things to people you love to show how much they mean to you, right? Humans do that sort of thing, don't they?"

"Of course I have. What does that have to do with it?"

She played with his fingers in her paw as she spoke. "Well to me, it's my way of expressing how I feel. I'm not… that good at saying what I mean. Being physical with it though, I'm good at."

"It sounds like you've had some relationship experiences of your own." Nathan said in turn.

"Actually you'd be surprised. I mean sure, I've had sex. Many times. The whole love thing I'm new at. What about you?"

"What, how many times I've had sex?" Nathan said, the room getting hotter for some reason.

The few times he'd had sex he could only count on one hand.

"Sure, why not?" Fenra giggled.

"Um…" Nathan paused. "Like… four times maybe?"

"Wow, that's it?" Fenra said kind of surprised. "No wonder you're so out of it."

"Now, what does that mean?" Nathan cocked an eyebrow.

"Just playing with you, love. Wow… so few times… I have so much to teach you."

"Teach me what?"

"Maybe I'll show you sometime... Let's talk about something else before I actually get turned on. Wouldn't be exactly polite to get all touchy feely in public, although I certainly wouldn't mind a grope or two…"

"Yes." Nathan readily agreed quickly. "Please do."

"Bummer." Fenra frowned. "Well, can't blame a girl for trying. So what, should we talk about ourselves again or something?"

"Yeah actually..." Nathan remind himself. "I was curious what your other homes were like when you stayed there. You okay with sharing anything like that?"

"Well if you gotta know…" She held his hands tightly. "Let's just say they were not as open and as kind as you are, Pet. They could be cruel. If I got in their way or complain, they'd do horrible things to me."

"Horrible things?" Nathan said.

"They'd hurt me. In a bunch of ways. They'd yell at me, hit me, and sometimes wouldn't feed me."

"Why didn't you do something? You're so much stronger than them!"

"It's the law, and I didn't want to go back home."

"What was wrong with your family?" Nathan asked. He didn't know about this part.

"They think I'm a disappointment as a Hellhound. Apparently I'm too soft, I never really asked why."

Too soft? Jeez, what were the other Hellhounds like?

Nathan frowned. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't mean much, though."

"It's okay." Fenra reassured him. "I don't need to be sad anymore. I have my Pet now. My Pet takes very good care of me." She nuzzled her face into his hands. "I still feel a little sad, though."

"Why's that, Fuzzy?" Nathan asked the loving hound.

"Because," Fenra looked up at him. "Your sad. Some nights when I sleep next to you, I hear you cry and feel you shiver and shake in my arms. I want you to not be sad. It hurts."

"... I'm sorry you have to see that. If I could stop it, I would've done so by now."

"I want my Nathan to be happy. I would do anything for you to smile." Fenra started to whimper and whine.

"It's fine, Fuzzy." Nathan smiled. I'm happy right now, see? You wanna know why?"

She stopped her whining. "Why's that?"

"Because," Nathan paused. "I have you. Whenever you're around me Fenra, I don't feel as bad. I don't feel alone."

Fenra's dark face blushed and she looked shy. She couldn't have been any cuter. Or any more perfect. "I'll always be right next to you. I… I want us to be closer though…"

"I know what you mean. I…" Nathan knew he had to tell her exactly how he felt. He couldn't just keep on pretending he didn't feel the same way she did for him. He had feelings for her. Real, warm feelings that reminded him of her.

His Emily.

Fenra was blushing, with a happy smile that exposed her fangs, and her cute tail was wagging back and forth. If you've ever been with that special person in your life and confessed your feelings to them, there's a feeling in your gut that tells you, "I know they feel the same way too."

"Yes, darling?" She held his hands tight.

It would be difficult to say, Nathan wasn't sure he could do it. He heard her sweet voice reassure and encourage him. He stammered to gain control of his own voice to put his feelings into words.

"You can do it, Nathan. Don't be afraid."

He was afraid. Very afraid. Of letting her in, just like he did with her.

"I guess... what I'm trying to say is… is that I-"

Chase finally came with their drinks. "Ice cold, just how you wanted it!"

He noticed the serious looks on Fenra and Nathan's faces. "Oh. Am I interrupting a personal moment over here?"

Nathan looked at Fenra, then sighed. It just wasn't the right time. He wasn't ready. He answered Chase with a mediocre tone.

"No, it's nothing. Thanks for the drinks, Chase."

"No problem. You two ready to order?"

Fenra's ears furrowed and she frowned as Chase set their beers down on the table. Nathan spoke to Chase. "Yeah, I'll have a steak with potatoes and gravy. Medium rare."

"Sounds like a plan." Chase wrote it down, and turned his attention to Fenra. "How about you?"

"Same as my darling." She said. She wouldn't take her burning eyes of off him. Chase wrote that down too.

"Sounds good. I'll be back in a second, don't go anywhere now." Chase said with a smile. "Take care my boy here. He's one of the good ones." He went back over to the front.

He couldn't look her in the eyes. It was too hard. He felt so disappointed in himself. He sighed, and took a very long swig of his beverage, way too long to be normal. Fenra whimpered and whined in worry for him. He finally sat the drink down, easily more than half of it already gone.

"Are you okay, Darling? You look so sad right now…"

Nathan tried to avoid her eye contact. "It's fine. I just… thought I could do something, but it looks like I can't. Not yet. I'm sorry Fuzzy… I hope your not mad."

Fenra just gave her that same fanged smile he always gave him. "It's okay darling, I'm not that good at expressing my myself either. Just give it some time."

She leaned across the table, her and his face as close as they could get. "Close your eyes for me, okay?"

"Why?"

"Just do it. For me."

Nathan sighed and closed his eyes. What could possibly happen next?

He suddenly felt the sudden sensation of Fenra's soft lips kissing his. His eyes were forced open in shock. He didn't know what to do, he never expected this to happen. But it was good. Really good. Maybe if he couldn't express how he felt in words, maybe he could through this.

He closed his eyes, and relaxed himself. Fenra was surprisingly gentle with her kiss. They interlocked their fingers and held them that way for what felt like a long time.

"Thank you for that."

"No problem…" Nathan hadn't felt this good in a long time. "I...I wouldn't mind doing that more often."

Fenra gave him a quick peck in response. Nathan couldn't help but smile. This girl in front of him was exactly what he needed right now. She smiled too.

"I'll give one every day. How's that?"

"Sounds perfect to me."

Their food arrived shortly after that and they both enjoyed their time. Fenra kept wanting to feed him bites of her plate even though they ordered the same thing. He indulged her though, because she had the cutest face on when he took the bites. He did the same with her, although he teased her more than he should've. She didn't mind though, as long it was her Nathan.

They heard fire truck and EMT sirens blaring past the restaurant just as they were finishing their meal. Hope whoever that was for, it wasn't urgent.

"Thanks again for coming, you two. It's so nice to see you again, Nathan."

"I'll come back soon, I promise." Nathan said as he paid off the bill.

"And you," Chase turned his thick head to Fenra. "I like you. I wanna see you in my restaurant again, that sound good?"

Fenra nodded happily. "If the food's this good all the time, I don't see why not."

They left the restaurant, Fenra once again taking him arm and pulling close to her chest as they walked. She was adorable.

He could feel the heat from her chest. "When we get home, how about me and you…"

WAT WAT WATTTTTT

OH SHIT SON GET LAID GET PAID WOOOOOOOO

Sorry about that, the narrator had a stroke. Annnd he has a boner. I'm taking over for him in his absence. So what are these two doing? Oh okay, I get it. Just lemme get caught up in the script here...

Nathan's mind traveled to the darkest corners imaginable. "Oh, uhhhhh-"

She whispered things into his ears, which made him shiver. "I'll be gentle… at first."

Do it do it do it do it do it do it-

His brain hates him, and so do yours. The sexy hound gave him a wink. "Um, that'd be-"

Screaming for a distance away from them interrupted the conversation. He heard the sirens and alarms from earlier, and saw a crowd being held back by cops. He smelled smoke and ash.

There was a fire going on.

The complex was engulfed in flames, while fire fighters trying to do what they could to control the blaze from the outside. And for some reason, Crowley was there. What? Why was he here? Crowley was conversing with some of the fire fighters and looked like he was in charge. He tugged Fenra along to come with him to see what was wrong, and she reluctantly went along.

"Crowley?! What the hell is going on?"

Crowley saw him and jogged briskly over to him. "Oh hey kiddo, what a funny place to see you! I just got on scene myself. A liminal most likely started this fire. I'm working on it, don't worry."

"Did everyone get out at least?" Nathan asked looking up at the multiple floors.

"As far as I know, we do-"

His attention was drawn to a crying couple, the mother screaming at the cops that were trying to hold them back. "Please! My son is in there!"

Oh no.

Crowley heard them from behind. "Shit, I thought everyone was out awhile ago. The fire at this rate is too hot for us to go in safely."

"You can't be suggesting to let the kid die?" Nathan ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"If I let them go in, someone else might get hurt. My hands are tied. I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."

Nothing they could do.

Those words drove him insane. There's had to be someone they could do. He felt powerless.

The sirens, the screaming, and the smell of fire and ash swirled around in his head. It was all the same as before. Except this time he didn't have blood on his hands.

He had a choice. A chance to do the right thing. Nobody would have to die today if he acted.

Nathan called out to the couple. "What floor were you stay on?"

The father answered while the mother kept crying. "The 3rd floor, why are you asking?"

"I'll go in."

Crowley looked at him in shock. "What?! You do realize the entire building is in flames right? The least that will happen to you is getting burnt."

"If we don't do anything, someone is gonna die. I'm not letting that happen."

Fenra tugged on his arm tightly, pulling him back. "You're not going anywhere, Pet. If you got hurt I'd-"

"If I move quickly, the smoke and the flames won't do that much harm. Your guys down here can keep pouring on the water."

"Why do you have to be the one that does it? Why not let the professionals do their job? You don't have do anything…" Fenra desperately pleaded with him. "I don't want my Nathan getting hurt, or worse…"

"If I don't do something and that child dies, I'm responsible. We all are. I gotta do this. It's the right thing to do."

Fenra wasn't having any of it. "I can't just let you go and-"

He placed a small kiss on her lips to quiet her concerns. "I'll be right back. I promise."

She finally let him go. "If you take too long, I'm going in there to get you."

He turned to Crowley. "Call whatever help you can to take this fire down. Keep Fenra safe."

"You got it."

Nathan took a deep breath, and ran inside the building. The stairwell next to him was his ticket to the third floor. The smoke wasn't too bad yet, but he didn't have long. His smoking habits would have him on a ticking timer every second he was in there.

He ran up the the stairwell, trying to cover his mouth as best he could. He continued to cough and wheeze as the smoke entered his lungs and he forced it back out. He needed to be quick.

Crowley outside pulled out his cellphone and held to his ear.

"Who are you calling?" Fenra asked.

Crowley ignored her. "Nailiah, I need you and the team here NOW. We got a trapped child and a possible liminal. The clock is ticking. Yes, I need EVERYONE."

Fenra stared at the burning building in apprehension.

 _Come on, come on… Please be safe…_

Nathan had made his way to the third floor, and was trying to find the room that the kid was in. He was losing time. It passed by one of the doors and heard the screaming of a small child.

There you are. "Don't worry kid, I'm going to get you out of here, that's a promise!"

Nathan tried to bash the door open with his shoulder, but it wasn't budging. Fuck. He stepped back a few feet, and kicked the door as hard as he could. It flung open with a crack.

He heard the child in the nearby bathroom, and he hurried over there. The kid was huddled in the bathtub, screaming and crying in the fetal position. The fire was getting more and more out of control.

"I'm here to help you! Just hold on to me, and close your eyes. Can you do that for me?"

The kid stopped their crying and reluctantly nodded. He picked up the kid and tucked them tightly into his arms.

Fenra was starting to get anxious. He'd been in there for too long for her liking. She was about to go in when she noticed the familiar shape of Gwen flying above. She landed next to her with a thud.

"I saw the smoke and fire from the house. What are you doing here?" Gwen asked the worried hound."

"Nathan's in there…" Was all the hound could say.

"What?!" Gwen looked up at the building. Parts of it was starting to crumble. "My scales are resistant to fire. I'll get him out of there, don't worry! Just stay right here!"

Gwen lifted herself back into the air with her massive wings, and flew close to the windows, trying to see where Nathan was. She looked through a few of the windows, with no result. She finally found him struggling to walk down the hallway down the stairs with the kid.

Gwen flew back a few feet and broke through the window, the glass not even scratching her. She landed on her knees and looked around. "Milord! Where are you?"

The dragon heard the faint of of Nathan coughing. "Over here…"

Nathan was leaned up against the wall, struggling to stand upright. The smoke was too much for him, and he was gasping for air. Gwen ran to him and helped him regain his balance.

"You shouldn't be here…" Nathan tried to say but kept coughing and hacking.

"Neither should you milord, but that doesn't matter. Let's get out of here." She used her wings and her scaled body as a shield from the flames as they traversed back down the staircase. They had just about made it back to the first floor when they heard screaming. It was coming from one of the rooms in the hall.

"I… I thought the kid was the only one…" Nathan looked over in the direction of the screaming.

"I need to get you out of here, milord. Your lungs won't last much longer."

Nathan placed the kid in her arms and ran towards the direction of the screaming.

"Milord!" Gwen called out. Debris from the ceiling had now collapsed in the hallway, blocking the two of them off from each other. Gwen could have easily broken the debris, but the flames were getting worse. She also had the kid to think about.

Gwen would have to come back for him.

Gwen ran outside the main door, just as soon as some debris blocked it off behind her. The parents of the child ran over to her, and reviled the child from Gwen's care. The hugged and kissed their child. "Thank you so much, thank you…" The mother said over and over. The father looked concerned.

"What about that man?"

Fenra ran over to Gwen and looked at her. "Where is he? Where's my Nathan?!"

She looked over in the direction of the building. "Someone else was inside. Milord went after them and told me to get the kid out."

Fenra looked in horror." No… No!"

Fenra tried to claw her way through the debris, but it was too hot. "I'm coming, Pet! Just hold on for me!"

She pulled her paws away in pain. She found Gwen right next to to her, easily breaking the debris.

"Stay here. I'll get him out." She tried to push Fenra back, but she wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm getting him back, whether you like it nor not."

"Okay then…" Gwen said as the last piece of debris was broken. "Let's do this. You and me."

Nathan was on his knees, trying to cough out the smoke that was in his lungs. He didn't have much time left. The crying was coming from the room right next to him.

He was almost there. She'd be okay. He would save her. He had to.

He broke open the door and peered inside. The girl was on her knees in the center of the room, her hands covering her face. He stumbled and staggered his way over to her, calling out to her.

"Hey… I'm here to get you out… Come with me…" Nathan tried to say, but stumbled and fell to his knees coughing. The girl turned to look at him.

She wasn't human.

Her entire body was covered in black rune markings, and looked like she was on fire. Her hair was in a short bob, the color matched her skin.

"Who… What are you?" Nathan managed to say, before finally collapsing from the smoke. He was out of time, and out of energy.

Was this it? Was he about to die?

He didn't feel afraid, or scared.

Nathan was okay with this. It would all be over and maybe, just maybe…

He could see his dear Emily again.

But then the thoughts of Fenra filled his mind.

No. He couldn't leave just yet.

He tried to reach out for the girl, but lost the energy in his arm. He was too tired.

Nathan finally lost conscious, and the darkness overtook him.

As he lost consciousness, he could've sworn he heard Fenra's panicked voice approaching him before fully blacking out.

"Just hold on, stay with me..."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **A/N: Yeah, sorry for the wait. I've having some family shit go down, so this has been on the backburner for me. If you notice any spelling errors or that shit, I'm sorry I'll go back in and fix those later. I figure waiting any longer for the chapter isn't what you guys deserve.**

 **I'm not sure what the timeline for the release of the next chapter will be. If everything goes well, it should be up next week. If not well… It'll be up whenever I get it up I suppose.**

 **Thanks for waiting this long, and I'll make sure not to let to go as long as I did this time.**

 **Make sure to review this fic if you have questions or feedback. I practically live off of those things to keep me going. A favorite or a follow would brighten up my day too if you feel like you can do that for me.**

 **Make sure to keep your friends close, and your monsters closer.**

 **I'll see you all real soon, whenever that may be.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Home Part 1

**A/N: Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh… It's been awhile. A long while. Longer than it should've have been. So you all probably have wondered and feared if this fic is dead. The answer?**

 **I'm not really sure. It depends on how much you guys what to see this go. Enough about the fic though, what about me, what have I been doing?**

 **Not much, really.**

 **I've wanted this chapter to come out WAY earlier than this. I just… couldn't bring myself to finish it. A lot of things have happened. Let's start from the top:**

 **1\. I started another semester at college. Don't worry, I gave up doing trying to go a month ago.**

 **2\. Destiny 2. Not much explaining needed there.**

 **3\. My brother and I had a falling out. You see, I'm a triplet (not identical). My brothers mean the world to me. I've never really felt like I was alone whenever they were around. They are my best friends, and the people I look up to the most. So, when my brother decided he wanted to move out, I didn't know how to feel about it.**

 **Eventually the day came in August when he decided to move. To keep a long story short, the cops were involved, and my brother has moved away. It could've gone better.**

 **I haven't heard from him in months.**

 **Apparently he changed his number without telling me or the rest of my family, and didn't take his phone with him when he left. I have his old phone, not sure if he has one right now. I miss him.**

 **Enough about me.**

 **I've had bad writers block ever since my brother left. I just can't seem to focus on what to do.**

 **What you are going to read is really only half of what this chapter is supposed to be, and I'm disappointed with it. I would try to make it better and longer, but that might take too much time. I've already disappointed most of you with how long the wait has been.**

 **So this is what I have to show for two months of absolutely doing nothing.**

 **Won't hold you any longer, back to what you all came for.**

 **Hit the lights.**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 _Thanks for coming on such a late notice, Nathan. I-I mean, I would've picked a better time but-_

 _It's fine, don't worry about it Em. I always have time for you._

 _(Awkward Silence)_

 _So..._

 _So, what are we doing inside a coffee shop, anyway?_

 _Well... I just thought it'd set the mood._

 _What mood?_

 _Nevermind. I just... wanted to talk._

 _About what?_

 _Well, I'm not really sure. I mean, I thought I knew what I was going to say when I got here..._

 _Take your time._

 _Well, I'll just start from the beginning then... I'm not sure how to really do something like this. I mean, I've never really had…_

 _Coffee?_

 _A friend. A real friend that I could depend on._

 _A friend?_

 _Yeah._

 _What about a friend?_

 _You remember when we first met, right? When I bumped into you around that corner in the library?_

 _Of course I do, it wasn't THAT long ago. Your face was as red as it could've been. What about it?_

 _I think about that day a lot. Maybe a little too much._

 _What about that day?_

 _...Do you believe in fate? Destiny, and all that?_

 _Not really. Why?_

 _Ever since that day I've had this… feeling._

 _Feeling?_

 _I'm not sure how to describe it. The reason I brought up fate was because I think it might have something to do with it._

 _So what, you think it was fate that we were going to meet?_

 _I-I mean, I'd like to think so… The thought of me never meeting you, never getting to know you… scares me._

 _Why? What's this all about?_

 _I wasn't in a good place before we met. I've told you about that before._

 _Are you afraid of what might've happened if you hadn't met me?_

 _Yeah. I… I just want you to know it means... so much to me to have you in my life. So, so much. I know I can never make it up to you..._

 _You don't owe me a thing, Em. That's what friends are for, to be there for each other when we need it._

 _Is… is that all we are?_

 _What do you mean?_

 _I mean… are we always just going to be friends? We can't ever try to be… more?_

 _More?_

 _...Do I really have to say it out loud?_

 _Wait, you don't mean…_

 _That's exactly what I mean! I… I like you. Like a lot. Maybe a little too much…_

 _You do?_

 _Of course I do! Ever since that day, I had a… crush. A big one… It only got worse the more of you I saw. When you offered to come over to help me with the homework that one day, I knew… I just knew you had to be the one. Every since then, the way I feel has only gotten stronger._

 _Why me though? What not someone else?_

 _How could I not? You were the only one who thought I was worth something. Every time I've stumbled and fallen down, you were always there for me. You may not think what you've done matters, but it did to me. All of it._

 _I'm… not sure what to say._

 _Me neither. That's why I wanted to ask you. Do you feel it too? That burning, aching feeling in your chest whenever we are together?_

 _...Always._

 _...Well… What do you think we should do?_

 _I don't really know. Maybe a date?_

 _A-a date?_

 _Gotta start somewhere, right? How about the movies?_

 _I'd like that. A lot._

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

My head hurts.

Where was he anyway? The bed was too firm and itchy compared to his back home. He tried to open his eyes and move, but he could barely move anything, much less twitch. What had happened to him?

He remembered the fire. Oh yeah, that happened.

Was everyone okay? What about that… thing he saw inside the building? What was it? He needed to find out.

He grunted and tried to open his eyes, but felt so weak. His hands felt raw, and his entire body was sore. Not to mention he had the worst headache he'd had in a few years.

"Ugh…" Nathan managed to struggle out of his parched throat.

While he struggled to move again, he felt a pressure on top of his chest and body. What was that? His eyes finally obeyed his commands and opened, and lo and behold who else could it be but Fenra on top of him. Figures.

His hound was snuggled into him tightly, her snoring pressing her chest against him. How long had she been there with him?

"Well well, it's about time you woke up." He saw Crowley standing in the doorway. Gwen was sitting in the room too, reading a book.

Gwen was alerted to Crowley's response to him, and quickly put the book down.

"Milord, your finally awake!"

Nathan coughed. "Uh, hi Gwen."

A beautiful smile appeared on the dragon's lips. "Nice to see your finally awake."

"Awake? What do you.. Wait a minute. Crowley, how long have I been out for? Where are we?"

Crowley stepped into the room and fold his arms. "Just a few days now. You're in a hospital."

Nathan groaned and his head fell back into the pillow. "A hospital? Well, that's just great. I missed work."

"I wouldn't worry about that. I told your boss what happened. Your fine."

He tried his hardest to lift his hands into view, but couldn't summon the strength on his own. He still had control of his arms, but he couldn't feel a thing in his hands. Gwen saw what he was trying to do, and helped lift his hands to view. They were entirely wrapped in bandages.

"You did a brave thing, kid. A very stupid and dumb thing. All in all though, you did good. You could've been seriously injured or killed." Crowley said in response to his bandaged hands. "If it wasn't for Gwen's and Fenra's help, you'd be dead for sure."

Nathan was still struggling to hold his hands up. "What… happened to me?"

"After you passed out, a piece of rubble landed on top of you." Gwen softly held his hands to save his energy. "Your hands got the worst of it, bad burns and damaged nerves. You'll need some help getting around until you get full control back, milord. Me and Fenra were very lucky to find you when we did."

Nathan looked over to the sleeping hound on top of him. "How long has she been here?"

"She'd never left your side since it all happened." Crowley chuckled. "We tried to reassure her that things would be okay, but she's stubborn as all hell. Not like anyone in this hospital could've told her to go away. Maybe for you though, that's a good thing."

"So how did we do?" Nathan asked. "Is that kid gonna be okay?"

"Kid's fine. The family lost most of their things in the fire, but if it wasn't for you, they would have lost a lot more than just some furniture. They came to see you while you were asleep, told me to tell you that their so grateful to you. Also, if there's anything they could do to help out, they'd try to do what they could." Crowley handed him a copy of the city's latest newspaper.

"As long as everyone's okay, that's enough for me." Nathan sighed, looking at his hands and at the newspaper.

"You're a hero, milord." Gwen said.

"A what?" Nathan responded.

She pointed out the headline on the newspaper for him. "It's what people are calling you milord, see?"

He read the headline with a frown:

CHILD SAVED FROM BURNING HOME BY RANDOM BYSTANDER

"I… I don't really feel like a hero." Nathan said.

"Most heroes don't." Gwen said as she rubbed his back with her claw reassuringly. Her claws felt good as she rubbed against his sore back.

"I just did what anyone else would have done."

Gwen gave him a encouraging smile. "But that's what makes you different, milord. Nobody else went into that building to help except for you. I've met a few people like you in my time, although they were from various centuries. You remind me of them, in a way."

"Thanks, I guess." Nathan said.

"I suppose now is a good time for me let you know about something else." Crowley stepped forward.

"Let me know what?"

"Your… uh, parents came to see you while you were gone."

Nathan felt a chill run through his body.

"They… did? Are they still here?"

Crowley shook his head. "No, they left a while ago. They said they knew you wouldn't have wanted to see them right now. They did say they were proud of you."

At least they knew what he was still going through, and knew he still needed space. He would try and get in touch with them soon, he just wasn't sure when that would be. No hard feelings involved. Soon.

"Well, thanks for letting me know. Is there anything else I missed while incapacitated?"

Crowley took his gaze over to Gwen. "There's a matter or two I need to discuss with you and Gwen."

"What would that be?" Nathan asked.

"Well…" Crowley started to speak but was cut short by the rustling of Fenra on his bed.

"Looks like our Fenra is waking up. We'll talk about it all later. Me and Gwen will leave you two alone for a moment."

"Uh, okay?" Nathan said to the two of them as they left his room. Where they went, he wasn't sure.

Fenra's soft snoring turned into yawning and stretching her body on top of him. Her eyes fluttered open and when they did they were met with Nathan's gaze back at her.

"Hey there." Nathan said with a smile.

Fenra didn't move for a second, it took her a moment to register seeing him awake. Her grip around his chest tightened and her fluffy tail beat itself against of of his legs erratically. He would have a bruise or two on his legs later.

"Pet…" She said with an ecstatic expression on her face, her head creeping up slowly to his.

"Good morning, or whatever time it is, haha."

She smiled and brought her lips close to his left ear and whispered. "I missed you… very much." She licked his ear, causing him to shudder. Chills ran down his spine. The good kind of chills.

"I… missed you too."

She kissed his ear, nibbling on it like it was her own chew toy. "How are you feeling, darling?"

He wrapped his arms around her back, although he couldn't grip her like normal. He just sort of held her limply. " I mean, it could be worse." Nathan said back.

Fenra rotated her whole body, her back lying down on his chest. She put his burnt hands into her paws and caressed them gently.

"Do they hurt? Your hands?" She said, kissing one of them on the bandage it was covered with.

"Not really, actually. I can barely feel them."

He heard her whimper softly. "I'm... just glad you're okay, love. If anything happened to you… I don't know what I'd do with myself…"

"Hey. I'm alright, thanks you and Gwen. I'm sorry I made you worry. I promise I won't do it again. I hope I can make it up to you, somehow."

Fenra stared back up at him with longing eyes. "A kiss would be nice..."

"Go right ahead." Nathan said, giving her permission to do whatever she pleased. Fenra leaned in to kiss him. Her lips and tongue were warm to the touch, almost to the point of scalding him. He could feel small moans escape from her while they kissed. She must have been waiting for a long time. She clung to him desperately, not wanting to let go and to possibly lose him again.

"Thank you, Pet. I needed that." She pecked him on his cheek. She looked so happy in his arms.

"How long have you been here with me?" Nathan asked.

"I've been right here ever since you got here. I wanted to make sure you weren't lonely or cold, so I snuggled with you as much as I could. I petted you, helped keep your body relaxed. I took care of you as best as I could."

Nathan wasn't that surprised to hear that. If Fenra had her way, she would never let him go. Never.

"You didn't give the hospital staff a hard time, did you?"

"I didn't bite anybody, if that's what you mean."

"You know," Nathan paused. "You didn't have to do all that, Fenra. You could've gone home and done whatever you wanted."

"Of course I didn't have do, I wanted to. You're my Nathan, and I'll take good care of you, no matter what happens. I… love you. So much."

She does love me, doesn't she? She was too good to him. Too good for him. He didn't deserve this, not for one second. How was he supposed to respond to this? Any of this?

"Lucky me." Nathan finally said, scooting up his head to rest his back on the wall. She sat in his lap, her back resting on his chest. Fenra tucked her legs to her chest, and wrapped both her and Nathan's arms around her knees. She swung from side to side, giggling like a little girl while he held her. Fenra liked this, very much.

"I like when you hold me, Pet. Do it more often."

Nathan chuckled. Even as cute as this was, Fenra still tried to maintain the facade of her domination. He let her have that fantasy, though. It made her happy, and that's all that really mattered.

"I promise I will. I can't really do much else, can I? Not with these messed up hands of mine." Nathan examined his hands inside of Fenra's paws. "It's gonna be awhile until I can pet you again like I used to."

"Then I'll pet you. You've take such good care of me, I should be doing the same for you even more so now."

"You would do that?"

Fenra giggled and nodded. "Of course I would. I do it all the time in your sleep. You look so cute while I pet you."

Nathan blushed a little. "I do?"

"Yeah."

Nathan hadn't done this before, but he nuzzled into her hair and sighed. She smelled so good, and her hair looked soft enough to fall into. Fenra liked it.

"So soft…" Nathan said with a heavy sigh.

"That's it…" Fenra said with a smooth tone. "Just relax, darling. I'm not going anywhere…"

He hoped that would be the case.

"I'm kinda sleepy." Nathan said.

"Then sleep, darling. I'll take care of you."

"You sure? You really don't have to."

Fenra kissed him. "Of course I do."

Nathan sighed in relief. "Okay then…"

It wasn't long before Nathan fell back to sleep, it would've been too hard to do anything else when Fenra was snuggled against him.

"Just rest now, my darling." Fenra said as she cradled him, soothing her pet in own her special way that she knew how. "I'll take care of you…"

That's all he really needed. Just someone who would take care of him. For such a long time, he felt like he was alone. He still talked to his friends every day and people he cared about all the time sure, but he still felt lonely on the inside. Fenra fixed that for him, as she knew exactly what that felt like. She would do whatever it would take to please him, for her love to be reciprocated.

Not like that was going to be an issue. It was clear to Fenra that her darling Nathan cared more deeply for her than he would ever admit out in the open. She knew it. He may never say exactly what he felt, but when she stared into his dull blue eyes, she saw the care and affection in him that she craved for so long.

She took one of his hands, and carefully used it to rub and pet her own head. His touch soothed her anxiety, and her fears. The main reason she loved to be held and petted was her own low self esteem and insecurity. Ever since she was a little puppy, she felt like she never was good enough for her family or her friends. They would always expect more of her than she could put out, and her family always doted on the other kids in the litter besides her.

It put her in a bad place for a long time. Every other day it seemed she would sit in her room depressed and would cry for hours into her pillow. All she had ever wanted was for someone to love her for what she was, and who she was. Not some standard to live up to. It was one of the reasons she left her family and tribe in the first place. Sure, they cared for her in their own way, but that wasn't what she needed. She needed someone special in her life. Someone that she could love and care for, and that would give her the exact same in return.

Nathan was everything and more that she could have ever hoped for. He didn't care that she was monster, or that she wasn't as pretty as normal girls in her eyes. Nathan saw her as a person first, and a hellhound second. Every moment she spent with him was the happiest she had ever been in a long time. She didn't deserve such love and affection, it was too sweet and warm for what she was. She was selfish, and possessive, Not to mention ugly.

Sometimes at night while the two of them snuggled in slumber together, Fenra would simply stare at Nathan and cry. She wanted- no, she NEEDED him so badly it hurt inside. She wanted him to love her so badly, she would do whatever it would take. Hell, even if he abused her, she wouldn't care. As long as she was with him, she was his.

She wiped a tear away from her face with his hand, and smiled sadly. "I love you. More than you could ever know."

In order to reassure himself, she started to nibble and lick at his fingers. When they would sleep together, she would do this to soothe her anxiety. He tasted so good, it was hard to stop once she started. She took one of his fingers and started to suck on it, which relaxed her greatly. His touch had finally calmed the hound to slumber, and they would remain that way for a few hours. Just the two of them.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"So, are you sure that's what you want to do?" Crowley asked the dragon.

Gwen nodded. "I made up my mind awhile ago."

"He's not alone Gwen. He's got Fenra, and his family and friends. You don't have to overextend yourself."

"I'm just… worried is all."

He put a hand on her scaled shoulder. "When he wakes up, we both tell him the news together."

"What do you think his reaction will be?" Gwen said.

"Hard to say. Hopefully positive?"

"Maybe. Let's go check up on him."

They went back into his room, saw that he was awake, and Fenra was still asleep. He carefully was petting her, a smile painted on his face. Crowley cleared his throat.

"Hate to interrupt, but we got some business to discuss. Me and you business."

Nathan looked up and nodded. "Well, you have my attention, shoot. What do you need this time?"

Crowley made a gesture toward Gwen. "Remember how I said that we'd try to find place for Gwen to live? Well… we've found one."

"Really?" Nathan said elated. "That's good news. Where at?"

Crowley scratched his head. "That's the thing we wanted to run by you. Gwen, if you don't mind?"

Gwen chimed in. "Remember the Peregrines, milord?"

"Uh, yeah." Nathan replied. "What about them?"

"We found their will and testament."

"So a quick hypothetical here…" Crowley said. "How would you feel about getting a mansion? Just a hypothetical."

Wait, what?

Nathan's mind went blank for a second.

"I'd probably try and wake myself up from the dream. What exactly are you two getting at?"

"They left Gwen the entire house, land, and fortune. It's hers."

Nathan's mouth was agape. "Oh, w-wow… That's um…"

"But Gwen can't remain there on her own, so she wanted to ask you something."

"Okay, what then?"

"Would you and Fenra like to move in with me, milord?"

I got nothing.

"Um, sorry I-I must have heard you wrong. You didn't just say…"

"I did, milord. It would be my pleasure to welcome you and Fenra into the home of my former wards."

"I couldn't possibly afford to stay there. How would we pay for it?"

Crowley raised a hand. "That's where I come in, you see."

"What do you get out of this?" Nathan asked

"Well, it just so happens that I have a few… friends of mine that need a place to stay. I've tried to keep them in the office, or at home. I just don't have the space. So if they were able to move into the house, It would be a load of my chest."

"That makes sense, I guess. What about the cost though?"

"Oh yeah. We can cover pretty much everything. Whatever we can't cover we'll leave to you to decide."

"There isn't a catch to this that I'm going to regret later, right?"

"If you think having a bunch of women is a problem for you, then maybe."

A bunch of women? Oh boy. OOOOOHHHHH boy.

"When you put it that way, it would be crazy to say no."

Gwen was glad to hear that answer, as was Crowley.

"There's plenty of space for everyone, milord. I hope you'll like living with me."

Crowley's phone buzzed and he pulled it out to see.

"Gotta run, guys. The girls back home want to hear what the good news is. We can start planning everything as soon as possible."

"Okay Crowley. Nathan said. "Tell them I'm excited to meet them all."

Crowley grinned. "I'm sure they'll like that."

Looks like the little group Nathan had was going to get way bigger.

Hopefully Fenra wouldn't get too upset.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **A/N: Yeah, this is a short chapter, I know. Not exactly what you expected, or wanted for that matter. I just need time to try and forget about my brother.**

 **Not sure when I'll update again. Depends on how badly people want to see Nathan's story continued.**

 **If any other you have any advice for me for the story or whatever, I'd love to hear it. The best way to reach me is on my PS4. Together we could chat about it, and help come up with better ideas.**

 **My PSN: FyrusKasai**

 **As always, feedback is much appreciated. I hope you guys are okay with waiting a bit longer for more. I just need time.**

 **Keep your friends close, and your monsters closer.**

 **Let's hope there is a next time.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Home Part 2

**A/N:**

 **Uh, hi.**

 **I'm back I guess.**

 **It's been awhile, hasn't it?**

 **Yeah, I saw all the reviews and nice messages you people left. It was really nice, I didn't deserve any of it, but you guys said them anyway.**

 **So, where have I been?**

 **To tell you the truth, I've just been struggling. When I started writing this story at first, the intention was for it in some way to get out all of the sadness and depression I have built up over the years. I guess in the process, the words I had written were so personal to me, it was too hurt to go back to face them. It hurt.**

 **So I stayed away. I started to work on a complete rewrite of the story from the start.**

 **But even that was too much for me too handle. I've put so much of my heart in this that continuing for the longest time was painful. I knew this story could have been so much better, and I couldn't bring myself to do it.**

 **Except now.**

 **So yeah, this is the next chapter. No promises if I do another one. I can't afford to promise something I never would have been able to keep in the first place.**

 **So you know… Hit the lights.**

 **It's time to return to Nathan, for however short that might be.**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"So, we got someone we'd like you to meet or rather someone who wants to meet you, I should probably be saying…" Crowley paused.

"Okay, who? One of your people?"

"Well, she's not one of MY people. Just someone I picked up recently. Remember the fire?"

"Yeah?"

"You weren't imagining things." Crowley told him. "There was someone with you there."

"Oh." Nathan said in response. "Is she or whoever okay?"

After Nathan finished his sentence, the air in the room got warm, way warmer than normal. The cause of the sudden change in temperature? A girl. She slowly floated into the room, her feet barely touching the ground.

The girl's body was covered in flame-like markings and tattoos, her hair and and limbs a brighter shade of red than her torso, which was a dark orange. The markings reminded him of old tribal tattoos he'd seen before on TV or movies, although it was clear these ones had a different purpose. Her eyes were much like Fenra's, but they also were very different at the same time. While Fenra's burning eyes are ferocious and intimidating, this girls eyes felt soft and subdued. He wasn't sure how to explain the change, it was just the feeling he had when he stared at her.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Crowley said with a grin. "Don't be shy, now."

"Oh…" Nathan said, captivated by the new girl's appearance. She looked at him, giving a sort of empty stare that was odd at the same time charming.

'You… are N-Nathan, correct?" The girl said.

"Uh, yes. That's me. It's… uh, nice to meet you."

The girl quickly bowed her head in gratitude. "You are the one who saved me. Thank you, so very much."

Nathan rubbed his head, embarrassed. "Well, I had help…"

She noticed his bandaged hands. Her blank face suddenly became a deep frown. "I'm sorry…"

Crowley jumped back in. "She was apparently responsible for the fire. Lost control of her power."

She lowered her head in guilt. "It wasn't my fault… I-I got scared, and I lost control…"

Nathan looked back over to Crowley. "What is she?"

"I wasn't sure at first, neither were most at the office when we processed her at first. I had to pull records from old folklore. Apparently, she is an Ignis. Crazy rare."

"Ignis?"

"A fire spirit, or elemental. Most elementals only exist at the strongest point of their sources, like a volcano or deep in the ocean. Our friend here was most likely summoned by a Conjurer. Artificially made."

"A Conjurer? Wait, you mean magic?"

Crowley laughed. "Your homestay is a Hellhound, you met a Dragon recently, and now you're surprised that magic exists?"

Nathan didn't have a good or funny answer for that. "Good point. So, what's going to happen to her? Is she going to be punished or something?"

The girl lowered her head in guilt. She repeated her mantra of "Sorry…" many times over.

Crowley sighed. "It's obvious it was an accident. Deporting her wouldn't do any good, as she has no home to begin with. She'll need a place to stay, until we either find a better place or find the Conjurer that made her. That will take time and resources. Don't even know where to begin looking."

Nathan rolled his eyes, sensing quickly where this was going to go. "And I guess the mansion I'm moving into is a good candidate?"

Crowley grinned. "Thanks for volunteering. I knew you had a big heart after all."

"I-I owe you my life for saving me, mister Nathan."

Nathan turned to the girl again. "You don't owe me anything. Just try to be more careful in the future, okay? For your sake and the people around you. Your very special, remember that."

She quickly bowed her head again, her head bobbing up and down profusely. "Y-yes! I promise to be better!"

Crowley put his tinted shades back on. "I hope so, if something like that happens again, I might not be able to cover for you. I have a job to keep after all. Rent doesn't pay itself."

She bowed to Crowley as well. "Of course! T-thank you again!"

He nodded at her response and went back to check his watch. "Gotta get going. My team is still moving their things out of the office. I'll talk to you soon." Crowley rubbed his brow in stress as he walked out of Nathan's driveway, muttering along the way. He didn't catch what he said.

He pulled his car out of their driveway, leaving them alone.

"So, you got a name?"

She paused before responding, as if needing to remember if she actually did have one.

"I-I don't have one." She looked away. "I was only created to serve my master. But, my master is gone... "

Nathan looked around, trying to think for a minute. "Okay, well… What if you did have one? What would it be?"

She looked back to Nathan, her frown gone. "...I get to choose?"

Nathan laughed. "Of course you do! Everyone gets a choice."

"But I'm merely a-"

"Doesn't matter what you are. If you're going to be staying with me for awhile, I at least need something to remember you by besides-"

"E-Ember."

"Huh?"

"Ember. Is… that okay?"

Nathan smiled. "Ember. I like it. It suits you just fine."

Her face blushed, a smile appearing on her face as well. She looked adorable as she smiled. "Thank you."

Nathan held his hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Ember."

She looked at his hand, and back up to his face.

"Is something wrong?"

She held her hands up. "My hands…"

Nathan had forgotten that he was dealing with an Ignis for a second. "O-oh sorry, I forgot."

She smiled again. "It's alright, I should remember my place anyhow."

Nathan frowned. "Well, I guess I'll have to introduce you to the others. Oof, Fenra's not going to be happy…"

"Others?"

Nathan chuckled again. "It's kind of complicated."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"This is Ember."

"Uh, hello! I-I hope I don't get in the way. I'll try to help at all if I can..."

"It's very nice to meet you Ember. My name is Gwenyvere, but you can call me Gwen."

"Mmm." Fenra grunted, her paws folded across her chest as she stared down at the meek looking Ember.

"Come on, Fenra. Don't be rude."

"..."

"I promise to give you pets later…" I say, tousling her hair to tease her.

"Fine. My name is Fenra." She said after leaning her head into his hand and sighing.

"It's nice to meet you, Fenra. I hope we get along well…"

"Just stay out of my way." He felt Fenra's paws grip his shoulders tight as she growled. "He's mine."

Gwen and Nathan sighed. "Well, so much for that." Fenra left them to go over to Nathan's room, probably pouting or wanting to sniff his clothes again. She did that whenever she was upset.

"Does she not like me staying here? Is she your mate?"

"If Fenra had her way, we wouldn't be moving out of the place at all. And to answer your other question,no. Fenra likes to think so, though. She's my homestay. I'm taking care of her."

"Master is very kind…." Ember says, looking at him rather tenderly.

"Just wait until we move into the estate, milord."

"Oof. Don't remind me."

"I'll go show Ember where she'll stay for the moment. Go see if you can coax Fenra out of my room. At least get her to stop putting bite marks in my shirts."

"I'll try, milord." Gwen said with a bow.

"...I'm not... a burden, am I?"

"Oh, not at all! Fenra's just being grumpy. Follow me." Nathan said and decided to show her around the house to see where she'd be staying.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"You're not going to make me look for you, are you?" Gwen chimed as she stuck her head into his room, her tone obviously mocking Fenra.

"I'm right here." Fenra said blankly, setting on the bed as she cuddled Nathan's pillow and guarded it close to her chest.

"Oh, good. I thought I'd have to pull you out from under the bed." Gwen walked into the room and straightened out her skirt a little. The only reason Fenra wasn't growling was because if there was any one monster that outclassed a Hellhound, it was a Dragon. It wasn't even a contest.

"Very funny." Fenra pouted, rubbing her cheek against the pillow and her fluffy tail thumping against the bed hard.

"I'm sorry for-" Gwen tried to say before being interrupted.

"Don't. I know what your trying to do." Fenra growled, squeezing the pillow tighter to her bosom.

Gwen sighed, like a mother would when their unruly child was refusing to give an inch. Gwen spoke in a proper and dignified tone, obviously speaking from a more authoritative facet of herself.

"I simply came to inform you that Master Nathan has requested that you… come out and speak with him."

Fenra whined, sniffing the pillow more. "But Pet's with that...thing. I don't want her here. She'll just take him away from me, like everyone else will. Make her go away."

Gwen sighed, sitting down on the bed gently next to her. Fenra growled of course, but did nothing as she knew it wasn't scaring her.

"Do you know how long dragons live for?"

Fenra grunted. "Long enough to annoy me."

Gwen disregarded Fenra's jab as she continued. "Thousands of years. Do you want to know how old I am?"

Fenra nibbled on the pillow more. "No. But your going to tell me anyway."

"I'm over a thousand years old. And do you know what I've missed the most across the centuries?"

Fenra shook the pillow in her mouth, her tail thumping in annoyance. "Treasure?"

"People. Not just people, but… Love. Do you want to know how many times I've loved and lost?"

Fenra was going to make a snide comment, but her last part seemed to finally get through to her. "Enough to not be able to forget?"

Oh, you have no idea. And do you know why I'm telling you this?"

Fenra thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "No."

"Because I understand how it feels. That jealousy. You want so much for them to be yours, you'd do anything and push past everyone to have your way." Gwen turned to Fenra to look into her red eyes.

Fenra growled. Then she whined as she hugged the pillow tighter. "He's mine. My Nathan. He's kept me safe, even when I hurt him."

"So, you are afraid he'll be taken from you?"

Fenra hesitated a bit before nodding slowly, her tail thumping lessening a bit. Gwen nodded, sighing as she knew all too well the feelings Fenra had stirring inside her.

"Well, do you think Nathan feels the same about you?"

When Fenra heard this, she whined loudly as she buried her face into the pillow. She thought about the date he took her on, and how they kissed after she treated his scratches.

"Even if he doesn't, he's still mine. I won't let anyone have him. Nobody will hurt my Nathan."

Gwen slowly reached a clawed hand around Fenra's back, rubbing gently. Fenra growled at first, but eventually relented.

"I understand how you feel now. I had heard how attached Hellhounds get, and seeing it firsthand has me a little envious. I'm sure Nathan likes you too. I've seen how he looks at you."

The words seemed to appease Fenra, as her tail started to wag again and her grip on the pillow lessened. "You think so? But what about the Ignis? The way he smiled at her..."

Gwen chuckled. "They just barely met, honey. Nathan is just being a good host. If you feel so strongly about it, why not go to him and get down to the bottom of it?"

Fenra seemed to like this idea. "I'll do that."

Fenra stood up slowly, still clutching his pillow as she looked back over to Gwen.

"Uh, t-thanks." She quickly said before leaving his room to go to her Nathan so he could comfort her insecurities.

Gwen smiled as she left, seemingly satisfied that she and Fenra had finally made some progress together.

She looked around the room for a moment, and sighed as she got up. The room was a mess, likely Fenra's doing. She started to pick up after the hound, humming happily as she did so. She picked up one of Nathan's shirts, this one having a few holes in the chest from Fenra's fangs.

"My, she does have quite the fangs."

Gwen giggled, showing hers in the process. "Mine are still bigger though~"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Ember looked around at everything curiously in the house, it likely being her first time seeing most of all of it. She behaved herself, not touching anything and always following her master's side as they walked together.

That's what he was, right? Her master? He must be, Ember thought. Even if not, she didn't seem to mind. His kindness alone made her feel content enough to not question it.

"You alright, Ember?" Nathan looked behind him, checking up on the curious Ignis.

"O-oh yes Master! Sorry."

Master is kind. And handsome.

She smiled to herself as he showed her back to the living room.

"Well, that pretty much covers all of the rooms. We'll be readjusting a lot during the move though. Now, about where you'll sleep…"

Ember looked at Nathan curiously. "Sleep, Master?"

"Yeah, you do sleep right?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so… Is that bad?"

"Uh, no. Don't see how it could-"

He was interrupted by very loud whining from right next to him, looking over he saw Fenra. Her ears and tail were drooped, and she hid her face from him behind the well-loved pillow she was holding. "Nathan…"

Ember looked curiously, wondering what the big kitty wanted.

"Uh, we'll finish this up later." Nathan said, turning to Ember. Ember seemed to get the message, quickly moving away from sight and leaving them to be by themselves.

Nathan turned to Fenra again, and heard her whine loudly again.

"What's up, Fuzzy?"

Fenra lowered the pillow, showing her very needy expression on her face. The pillow looked a little damp. It seemed like she was crying a bit.

"Oh no, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Nathan said, taking Fenra's paws into his hands and looking them over carefully. When he looked up to meet her gaze once again, he saw her sniffling a little.

"C-cuddles." She said, clutching the pillow tight.

"Cuddles?"

She took one of his bandaged hands, and brought it to her face, rubbing hard against it. She was shaking a little, whining as well. "P-please?"

Nathan chuckled, holding his arms out with a warm smile. "Oh come here, you big baby."

Fenra barked happily, practically jumping into his arms and tackling him to the ground as she rubbed her head against his cheeks and licked his hands and cheeks profusely. The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground, but he didn't care as he rubbed and gave his Hellhound the proper affection and cuddles she deserved. Her tail thumped on the ground and his legs, a loud noise being produced from it.

"E-easy there, Fuzzy! I'm here, I'm here. It's okay."

Fenra continued this for a while, rubbing her face and nose all over his and barking happily. Fenra definitely needed his cuddles, and what she wanted Nathan would try his best to provide, despite how broken he was. She needed him, and he would soon see just how much he needed her comfort in the coming weeks, as new friends were introduced, new bonds were made, and progress towards Recovery would be made.

"N-never leave me."

Fenra now hugged him tightly, licking at the mark on his neck gently as he petted her and ran his hands through her silky smooth hair and tail. Her big, soft chest mushed against his, her thighs wrapped tightly around one of his legs as she rubbed herself against him.

"I said I wouldn't. I'm still here. What did I promise you when we first met?"

Fenra looked him in the eyes, licking his nose gently. He could feel the warmth from her chest, her beating heart practically radiating love and affection in its purest form. The look she gave him was practically haunting. She trusted him so much, the desire to protect him and their bond on such a high display.

"I'm not going anywhere. So don't you go anywhere, okay?"

Fenra nodded, kissing his cheek shyly as she rested herself against him. "...Okay."

"Good."

They stayed like that for as long as Fenra needed, Nathan more than willing to give her the petting and hugs she wanted. Her heart was a fragile and loving one, one he'd go to any length to protect and cherish. He may have failed Emily in the past, but with Fenra he had hope. He could do better this time, he could love her the way he should have to Emily. He could be happy. So could she.

Or maybe he was just kidding himself.

Maybe it wouldn't be enough. Maybe he'd only let her down due to how broken and screwed up he was.

His fear remained, no matter how much loving kisses and licks Fenra would give him. No matter how much affection he could give her, he'd never be able to reciprocate it all properly. He'd fail her, maybe not today but eventually someday.

Ember and Gwen watched quietly from the hallway, knowing not to interrupt their moment. Gwen had a smile on her face, getting to witness such affection had reminded her of all those she had loved and lost in her time. All the hands she shared, beds, and also hugs and proclamations of love. It all came back to her at once. Ember's face was blank still, not having experienced enough in her short existence to understand the tenderness and affection that she saw. She stayed quiet though, it seemed like the right thing to do.

Just when things seemed to be wrapping up, The front door opened and a very awkward looking Crowley looking down at the two of them. He cleared his throat.

"Hey, I can to check up on-"

He looked down to see them on the ground together.

"Oh- oh wow. Uh… Hey. Uh, you alive under all that fluff?"

Nathan chuckled, looking up at Crowley. Fenra didn't seem to care, nuzzling his chest as they shared awkward glances.

"Uh…"

"She wanted cuddles."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **A/N: Yeah, I know your disappointed. So many months have passed since the last chapter, and all you got is this?**

 **Well, blame me I guess. I'm the guy who just couldn't deliver.**

 **Guess that's what I'll always be.**

 **Will the story continue after this? Will I, even?**

 **Who know, honestly. I had originally planned to kill myself once I had finished writing the story and posting it. In the end, Nathan would get to move on, and I'd be able to maybe in some way help him recover, even if I ended up being just like him in the end.**

 **So, yeah. Keep your friends close, and Monsters closer I guess.**

 **See you around. Or not.**

 **-F**


End file.
